Phoenix Mew Mew: The Next Generation of Mew Mews
by Cyline the Cherry Blossom
Summary: After the Mews lost their powers, Ryou and Keiichiro returned to the U.S., thinking their work was done. That is until a new enemy appears and Ryou's new classmate, the independent and withdrawn Button, starts getting strange abilities. It's soon obvious that there is a generation of Mews in Phoenix, Arizona and they may be even more powerful than the first generation. Mostly OCs
1. Mew Girl in Town

_Because many people think that Button is a Mary-Sue and I kind of agree, I decided to retry this. Hope you all like this one better. ^_^_

_Warning: Might have minor cussing, nothing too bad._

* * *

The Jerald School System was well known throughout the world, with locations in London, England; Tokyo, Japan; and of course, the one our protagonist was now attending, Phoenix, Arizona. Marie Johnson, otherwise known as Button, stared at her new school. Truthfully, she never wanted to leave her old one, but certain things happened that caused her to transfer and here she was: at a school in Phoenix, Arizona, far, far away from her original home in England.

She sighed, letting her reddish brown hair fall into her face. Her apartment wasn't far from the school thankfully and she hadn't needed to take the bus. That would've been awkward. But now, she was faced with having to meet people in the classrooms. Something she was _not _looking forward to. After a moment's hesitation, she halfheartedly dragged herself the the building labeled "Administration", ignoring the whispers from the few people she passed.

The woman at the front desk beamed at her, "You must be Marie, the transfer student!"

"I prefer to be called Button," she informed the woman.

"Oh, of course! I saw that on you're papers. Forgive me. So, you're all the way from England?"

Button nodded. "Then why don't you have an accent?" the curious woman asked, tilting her head.

"I'm originally from California. I moved to England when I was seven. That should also be on my papers," she pointed out.

"Well, the Headmaster will want to see you. His office is just around the corner," she nodded in the direction she was talking about and Button walked away.

She quickly found the office when she heard yells from inside. "You've only been here a month, Ryou, and you've already caused more trouble than most of the students do during their entire high school experience!" a deep male voice yelled.

A quieter, younger-sounding voice replied calmly, "He was asking for it, Sir."

"No I wasn't!" a nasally voice interjected.

"You told me to stop flirting with Amy, Nev," the second voice, Ryou, said.

"Yeah, because she has a boyfriend and was asking you to stop," Nev retorted.

"Stop it you two!" the first voice, which she assumed was the Headmaster's exclaimed.

Button chose this time to knock on the large wooden door. "Who is it?" the Headmaster called.

"The new transfer student," she replied, only loud enough for the sound to get through the door.

"Come in."

She turned the knob and pushed the door open, seeing a man with a gray mustache and hair sitting at a wooden desk in the back of the room. Standing in front of the desk were two boys around her age. One was pimply and had greasy black hair, wearing his uniform as tidily as possible. The other had blonde hair and unusual aqua eyes, his uniform's jacket, thrown over his shoulder, a smirk on his face. it was obvious he was trying to look either good-looking or intimidating, but Button just thought he looked arrogant. "You two are excused," the Headmaster told them, beckoning for her come forward.

As she walked towards the desk and the two boys walked away, the blonde one bumped into her. "Watch where you're going, Flat chest!"

She smirked, "You should watch where _you're_ going_, _Blondie."

He frowned at her and left the room. When the door was closed, she stood in front of the desk, waiting for the orientation torture to begin.

* * *

Surprisingly, Button had made it through to lunch without anyone bothering her. It probably had to do with the glares she gave every person that tried to talk to her. She wasn't in the mood to make new friends. Not after- She shook her head, taking a bite of her roast beef sandwich. The whole point of moving here was to get away from all of that.

She was sitting in the courtyard on a bench, eating alone. Suddenly, she felt a shadow looming over her and looked up, her hazel eyes meeting a pair of aqua ones. "What do you want, Blondie?" she asked when she realized who it was, letting out an exasperated sigh.

"Name's not Blondie, it's Ryou," he told her, frowning slightly.

"Does it look like I give a shit?" she asked as seriously as she could. "Could you move, you're blocking my sun."

Ryou stayed rooted to his spot. Silently groaning, Button stood up, grabbing her stuff. Then, she pushed past Ryou and walked away.

* * *

Button mentally cursed the Arizona heat for the hundredth time since she had started walking home from school. She couldn't stand the heat, it was one of the things she had loved about England. Now, she was stuck in the desert sun. What was she, a damn cactus? Wiping away the sweat beading on her forehead, she sat on the steps to a cafe. Some of the cafes here sure were strange. The one behind her was completely pink with heart-shaped windows. "So gay," she muttered under her breath.

"Excuse me, Miss, but the cafe doesn't open until Saturday," a voice said.

She looked up. A man in his early twenties stood in front of her, juggling some groceries. He was tall with brown hair pulled back into a ponytail and calm grey eyes. She jumped to her feet, "Oh, I'm sorry. I was just taking a rest."

"Yes, it sure is hot here, isn't it?"

"Would you like some help with those groceries?" she asked, noticing that the man was holding at least ten bags.

"Thant would be wonderful. Thank-you."

Button took half of the bags as he led her inside of the cafe. "My name's Keiichiro," he said as they walked towards the kitchen.

"Button," she replied, "It's pleased to meet you."

"You too," he nodded and began putting things away.

"I best be going now," Button told him. "I'll come by the cafe on Saturday."

"Okay, see you then," Keiichiro said.

Button left the kitchen just as Ryou was entering the restaurant. The noticed each other almost immediately. "You," the two teenagers growled at the same time. "What are you doing here?"

They looked at each other in surprise before Button smirked at him, "See you later, Blondie."

* * *

_How are all of you starting to like it now? Is Button still a Mary-Sue? Is Ryou still OOC? I'd like to thank VanillaBerry DayDream for helping me with everything and giving me support as well. I'd like OCs that aren't Mews (students, teachers, civilians, people in trouble, etc.) Please, if you have an ideas on how to improve the story or any non-Mew or even Mew OCs, PM me! ^_^_


	2. Restart of the Mew Project

Ryou waited until Button was outside and the door had slammed closed to go into the kitchen. "What the hell was she doing here?" he asked Keiichiro who was putting groceries away.

"You know her?" Keiichiro looked up from the fridge at Ryou.

"Yeah. She's some bratty new girl at my school. She glared at everyone who tried to talk to her. I mean, who does that?"

Keiichiro rolled his eyes, "I can only wonder."

"So, what was she going here?" Ryou repeated.

"She helped me with the groceries. She didn't seem bad."

The blonde growled, "Bet she put on an act or something."

Keiichiro laughed, "Maybe something happened to her. You never know, Ryou. Don't judge a book by it's cover."

"But if the cover doesn't look good, what's going to give you an incentive to read it?" Ryou shot back.

"Maybe you should give her a chance."

"Fat chance," Ryou exclaimed, about to leave the room when Keiichiro stopped him.

"I need to talk to you about something else," the older partner said, sitting on one of the bar stools by the counter.

Ryou spun around, "What's up?"

"I noticed some strange occurrences. At first, I thought nothing of them until they began to become more and more frequent. Now, i'm starting to think Earth is under attack from aliens again. It's a new enemy and I have no idea what the want, but we should probably restart the Mew Project."

"What? We told Ichigo and the others that they were done," Ryou pointed out.

"And they are. The infusing process will no longer work on them. Their powers are gone forever, we can't change that fact. The attacks are mostly centered her in Phoenix anyways."

"So, we're going to try it here?" Ryou confirmed.

"Yes. I'm not sure if it'll work, but it's worth a try. Earth needs protection after all."

Ryou nodded, "Let's fire up the Transfuser."

* * *

Button opened the gate leading to the house she was staying in. It had been her mother's, once upon a time. For a small portion of her life, she had lived here before moving to England and it brought back many memories to be back inside the walled enclosure. Sighing, she put the key into the knob and opened the door, immediately tackled by something much bigger than herself. She laughed, pushing her black and white Great Dane, Peanut off and sitting up. Peanut barked, watching Button with cheerful brown eyes as the girl hobbled to her feet. She patted him on the head, then let him outside to run and do his business.

She closed the door and wandered into the living room. Right before she entered the room stacked high with boxes, she felt dizzy and a little strange. She reached for the nearest support, her legs giving out from under her. A bright red light flashed in front of her eyes before everyone turned black. She could faintly feel her head hitting against the floor before she lost consciousness.

* * *

Ryou looked at the screen, "What animals did you choose this time?"

"The Red Panda, the Trumpeter Swan, the Silver Wolf, the Black-footed Ferret, the Mediterranean Monk Seal, and the Mountain Viper," Keiichiro replied.

"Six instead of five? Mixing things up are we?"

Keiichiro laughed, "I guess. There was a match for each of them, though I still don't know who they are, just like last time."

"It's going to be a pain in the ass to find all of them," Ryou mumbled, looking at the charts of DNA.

"For now, just pay more attention to the girls that look between ten and twenty. They'll probably show some of the traits of their animals. Who knows, you might even see their Mew Mark."

* * *

_Button's eyes fluttered open and she found herself staring at an endless expansion of blue sky. Something about the vibrant color made her feel nostalgic, but she couldn't quite place it. She was lying down, she realized and looked on either side of her where grass and strange yet beautiful flowers obstructed her view. She sat up, seeing nothing but the field surrounding her. "Hello?" she called as she stumbled to her feet, her voice echoing as if she was in a cave._

_"Hello..." a magically inhuman voice said behind, floating on the gentle breeze. _

_Button spun around, coming face to face with a beautiful woman. She had blood red eyes that seemed to hold infinite wisdom and compassion as well as flowing red hair that blew gently in the wind. She wore a pure white dress that also slightly fluttered and Button could see she was barefoot. But what really caught Button's attention was the red raccoon-like ears protruding from her head and her long red and white ringed tail sweeping against the tips of the grass and flowers. "W-Who are you?" Button asked._

_"You..." the woman said, her voice as soft as the breeze._

_"Me? But how?"_

_The woman grabbed her hand pressing the four fingers of her right hand against Button's left wrist, a burning sensation tingling through the area, "All shall be revealed soon, Helena."_

* * *

Button's eyes popped open, met with the white ceiling. She sat up, groaning. "What happened?" she mumbled to herself, holding her head.

Instinctively, she looked down at her wrist and saw a mark shaped like two parallel and tilted white leaves branded onto her skin. She stared at it, her dream flashing through her mind, but as soon as it was there, it was gone. She closed her eyes, leaning against one of the nearby boxes. Whatever had happened, it was going to change her life, of that, she was sure.

* * *

_How are all of you starting to like it now? Is Button still a Mary-Sue? Is Ryou still OOC? I'd like to thank VanillaBerry DayDream for helping me with everything and giving me support as well. I'd like OCs that aren't Mews (students, teachers, civilians, people in trouble, etc.) Please, if you have an ideas on how to improve the story or any non-Mew or even Mew OCs, PM me! ^_^ _


	3. A Mew Friend

_Thanks to MewMewPom and VanillaBerry DayDream. ^_^ _

_To ToughCritic: I appreciate constructive criticism, but there are times when you write a review that I feel all you have is a negative feel towards everything in my story and I personally do not appreciate it. if you are going to review either give me some constructive criticism or try to find something that you like. That is all._

* * *

Button woke up with a strange craving for vegetables, which was weird considering she never really like them that much. She crawled out of bed, throwing on her uniform and running a brush through her tangled hair. She trudged into the kitchen, still a little sleepy and pulled everything that was green out of her fridge and began to make a salad. After a moment's thought, she cracked some eggs into a pan and began to cook also poured some cranberry juice into a glass, sitting at a table to eat her breakfast. Then, she sleepily grabbed her bag and headed off to school.

* * *

A small tap on Button's shoulder woke her up from her deep sleep. She looked at the girl next to her, Marine. Button realized she had fallen asleep in her American History class. Luckily, the teacher didn't notice as he went on with his lecture about World War I. She tiredly rubbed her eyes, stretching her hands out in front of her and yawning. She gave the Marine a small smile, which the shy girl returned timidly.

Marine had most of the same classes as Button. The girl had light blonde that was tied up in two pigtails, each of the bands sporting seashells, bangs framing her pale, freckled face. She watched her classmate with curious bright green eyes. After Button nodded to her, she turned to the teacher, fighting to stay awake.

* * *

When the bell for lunch rang, both Marine and Button stood up to leave. "Hey, thanks for waking me up," Button said to her.

"I-it was nothing. I didn't want you to get in trouble," she stuttered in reply.

"Do you want to eat lunch with me?" she asked. "I don't really have anyone to talk to and it gets kind of boring. I understand if you want to eat with your friends, though."

"I don't have any friends," Marine told her. "I'd love to eat lunch with you!"

The two girls walked out of the room, laughing softly at a joke Button had told.

* * *

"Wow," Button started, staring at Marine as she pulled tuna salad and poached salmon out of her lunchbox. "You must really like fish!"

"I just really had a sudden craving for it. It's strange though, I thought I was allergic to seafood," she glanced at Button's lunch which consisted of some leftover salad from breakfast, a boiled egg, and some raspberries she had picked up on her way to school. "Strange combination."

Button laughed, "It just sounded good."

"I have to admit, I was kind of afraid to wake you up. You glared at everyone else to scare them away, right? I think you're just misunderstood."

Button smiled softly, "Thank-you. I guess I just can't really trust anyone..."

"You can trust me," Marine said softly. "I'm not going to pry and ask you about your life before here, but if you're willing to try, w- we could be friends..."

The other girl thought about it for a moment. One friend couldn't hurt. She'd have to be careful this time though until she was sure she could trust her. "Okay," Button said softly, to wear Marine could barely hear her. "I'll be your friend. Thank-you, Marine."

Marine smiled brightly at her new friend, holding out her hand, "It's a deal then."

Button placed her hand in Marine's, shaking it, "A deal."

* * *

Ryou was looking around the courtyard, leaning against the tree. Just like Keiichiro had suggested, he was paying closer attention to the girls. As he scanned over each of them, looking for abnormal behavior, his eyes passed over Button Johnson and Marine Porter who were sitting and talking as they ate their lunch. He was about to move on when he saw something on Button's wrist. He squinted and saw a small mark shaped like two parallel and tilted white leaves. _a Mew Mark? _he wondered. _I'd have to get a closer look._

He pushed off the tree and began striding towards Button. She sensed him coming and looked up, "Need something, Blondie?"

"Can I see your wrist?" he asked bluntly.

"Umm... No," she said, turning back to Marine about to continue her story.

Noticing he wasn't leaving, she turned to him again, "Keep moving, Blondie."

"Just let me see your wrist," he demanded.

"No," she stated clearly.

Starting to get pissed off, he grabbed her wrist, pulling her up. She kneed him in the area where the sun don't shine. He let go, obviously in pain, and dropped to the ground. "Don't you dare touch me again!" she screamed, kicking him in the stomach as hard as she possibly could.

She noticed the attention they were getting and gathered up her stuff, "Let's go, Marine."

Marine stared at Ryou a small smile on her face, "Okay, Button."

The two girls walked away, suppressing their laughter. "He deserved that," Marine said quietly, giggling.

Button nodded, "He's too much of an idiot for his own good."

"I do wonder though... No one knows much about him, he doesn't really talk to people. Maybe he's like you."

Button shook her head, "Trust me, Marine. I've had a pretty difficult past."

Marine nodded, "I was just thinking out loud, I'm sorry."

Button patted her friend on the head, "It's always a possibility, Marine. Now, as I was saying before Blondie interrupted us-"

* * *

When the pain started to subside and Ryou could think clearly, he realized he had seen it, the Mew mark clearly printed on Button's wrist. He sighed, _Oh great, the first Mew is a girl I hate and she hates me just as much, maybe even more._ He let his head hit the concrete ground, "This is going to be even more a pain in the ass than I first thought."

* * *

_How are all of you starting to like it now? Is Button still a Mary-Sue? Is Ryou still OOC? I'd like to thank VanillaBerry DayDream for helping me with everything and giving me support as well. I'd like OCs that aren't Mews (students, teachers, civilians, people in trouble, etc.) Please, if you have an ideas on how to improve the story or any non-Mew or even Mew OCs, PM me! ^_^_


	4. Confessions and Cafes

Somehow, the week went by with Button completely avoiding Ryou. Friday came and Marine had invited Button to stay over at her house for the weekend and planned on going to Keiichiro's cafe grand opening on Saturday. "You'll love my house, we have a pool and everything," Marine said happily. "I live with my sister and her husband. Their both really nice, though so there's nothing to worry about. They're both happy because I'm bringing home a friend!"

"I can't wait," Button admitted, allowing a small smile to slide onto her face.

"Did you find someone to watch Peanut?" the blonde girl asked, a slight look of worry on her face.

"Yeah, don't worry about it. My neighbor, Miss Lionel, said she'd be happy to watch him for the weekend. I'll miss my baby, though," she finished sadly.

"Oh..." Marine said, regret showing in her voice.

"It's okay, Marine! I haven't had a sleepover in a long time. We can watch movies and swim and I brought some of the chocolate cake I made yesterday."

"I love cake!" Marine exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

That was one thing Button had noticed about her shy friend. Whenever Marine was happy, sad, or angry, she would clap her hands together like a seal and occasionally bark like one in the middle of a conversation. Button didn't mind though, she had started acting strange after she had passed out earlier that week. Like her diet practically only consisted of fruits, vegetables, and eggs and how she would cover her face when she was embarrassed and fall asleep in the middle of the day. She had also gained an inexplicable love for climbing trees and was actually quite good at it. "I also looked up some new recipes for salmon," Button told Marine, knowing about her obsession with everything and anything fishy.

"Yummy! I can't wait to make it," she said, her mouth already watering. "Are we still going to that cafe you told me about?"

"Yep! I can't wait to try some of the deserts. I think Ryou works there, though."

Marine pulled a face that made Button laugh. "I think Ryou's been stalking you a bit lately. I wonder why he's suddenly so interested in you. Why'd he ask to see you're wrist a couple days ago anyways?"

Button held up her wrist, showing her friend the mark she had received the day she fainted, "It appeared out of nowhere."

"Weird..." Marine commented.

"Tell me about it. I have no idea how he'd know about it, though."

The blonde shrugged, "Maybe he wants a tattoo and thought your's was one."

"Maybe. Let's not talk about Ryou. If he's our server at the cafe, we'll run him around like a dog and he'll have to be nice about it."

The two girls giggled at the thought just as they approached Marine's house. It was in the typical Arizona adobe style, stucco walls, tiled roofs, a small brick wall surrounding what would be the backyard. "Jessie and Victor won't be home for awhile," Marine explained, unlocking the door and pushing it open.

"Oh, what are they doing?" Button asked.

"Still working. I usually make dinner."

Another small smile appeared on the brown-haired girl's face, "Then let's make some salmon."

* * *

The two girls were laughing even though it was past midnight. The two of them had watched movies after dinner, then ate some of Button's delicious chocolate cake and a lot of ice-cream. Now, they were sitting int he living room, watching a funny show on the television as they stuffed their faces with popcorn. "You should be like this around everyone," Marine said softly during a commercial.

"What do you mean?" Button questioned.

"Around me, you're so funny and happy, but at school and around everyone else, you're so quiet, detached. It's like you're two completely different people," she said softly, staring down at her green pajama pants.

Button drew her legs up to her chest, letting out a long sigh, "I just have trust issues."

"Is that why you don't tell me anything?" her friend asked softly.

"I used to be very different before I came here. I was like this with everyone, bright, cheerful, so full of laughter."

"What happened?"

"I was betrayed."

Those three words rang out in the room during a quiet moment of the commercials. Marine nodded, "I'm sorry, for prying."

Button shook her head, "No, it's okay. it feels good to get that off my chest."

"I'm here, if you ever need me," Marine told her.

Button hid her small smile, "I know."

* * *

The next day, the sun shone brightly over Phoenix as the two girls got ready to go to the cafe. Button wore a red halter neck shirt with white diagonal stripes and a pair of black shorts that reached her mid-thigh, along with a pair of white wedges. She helped Marine pick out an outfit to make her as cute as her potential was.

"But I don't want guys to notice me," Marine whined as Button rummaged through her closest.

The girl she was talking to peeked her head around the door, "Why not? Come on, Marine. it's only one time."

"But-"

"How about a deal: If you can get three phone numbers, I will make you salmon everyday for lunch for a week."

"What kind of salmon?" Marine asked, raising a questioning eyebrow.

"Any kind you want."

"Deal!" Marine exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

Button smiled victoriously and went back to looking through Marine's closet. She finally settled on a sleeveless teal dress that reached the mid-thigh hidden in the back and a pair of purple flats along with a cardigan of the same color. When Marine had them on, Button surveyed her, "You look adorable!"

Marine blushed and looked at herself in the mirror, "I-I guess I am a little cute. Man I hope I can get those numbers!"

"You and you're salmon," Button said, rolling her eyes. "We better get going. It opens at ten. Hey, what's that?"

"What's what?" Marine asked confusedly.

The brunette pointed to the side of Marine's thigh, "That."

Marine glanced down at her thigh where a purple mark the looked like three intertwining spirals stood out clearly against her hip. "I never noticed that before. Interesting."

"Maybe it's like mine. Did you faint earlier this week?" Button questioned.

Marine nodded, "But it was nothing, I was just dehydrated."

"I fainted too."

The blonde stared at her friend. This was starting to get weird. "Let's think more about it when we get back. Right now, let's go have some fun," Button suggested and Marine agreed as the two girls left the house.

* * *

They arrived just as the cafe was opening. Marine had gotten two numbers already and Button had gotten four, not that she really wanted them. "One more!" Marine sang happily. "And then a week of delicious salmon!"

To their surprise, there was a short line of girls outside of the cafe, all of them talking excitedly. Both Button and Marine recognized most of them as girls from their school. "I heard Ryou works here," one exclaimed dreamily.

"Me too! Oh, I hope he's our server!" another one added.

All of the other girls sighed simultaneously at the thought. "Morons," Button muttered.

They must of heard her because they all turned towards her. The oldest looking of the girls came to stand in front of Button. It was Olivia Moral, the President of the Ryou Fanclub. At least, that what Marine said. Olivia looked down at Button, trying to seem menacing, "What did you say, Johnson?"

Button smirked, "Mor-ons. Got a problem with?"

"Actually, yes I do. And, I have a problem with you! You kneed our Ryou in the-um-you know! And we don't like that."

She raised her eyebrows, "Bite me, fangirl."

With a harrumph, Olivia turned around, "You're one to talk. You're secretly here to see Ryou, too, aren't you."

"Like hell I would come here to see that bastard," Button exclaimed. "Just to let you know, I'm here to see the owner because I told him I'd come on the opening day. Torturing Ryou is just a bonus."

Olivia didn't say anything after that because the door opened to let the girls in. Everyone sat down at empty tables and Button and Marine made sure to sit as far away as possible from the other girls. "Hello. I'm Ryou and I'll be your server," a bored voice said.

Button smirked to herself then looked up at Ryou with her sweetest smile. Ryou did a double take, "What the hell are you doing here?!"

Button ignored his question, her smile still set in stone, "Hello, sir. I'd like a strawberry and blueberry tart in the shape of a heart and a glass of raspberry iced-tea with six ice-cubes, no less, no more."

The brunette looked at Marine who nodded, "I'd like a strawberry shake with a curly straw and twelve brownies all cut like small circles."

Ryou stared at them, "Those are the most ridiculous requests I've ever heard! I'm not doing that for you."

"Well then" Button said, standing up. "I guess we'll just take our business elsewhere."

* * *

Ryou stared at Button, who actually didn't look that bad. How she had avoided him all week, he had no idea, but this was his chance. The consequence of taking this chance was that she would run him around like crazy. He caught a glimpse of her Mew mark on her wrist and immediately came to a decision, "Is that all I can get for you ladies?"

Button smirked, sitting back down, "We'll see, Ryou."


	5. Drama

_A special thanks to VanillaBerry DayDream! Enjoy! ^_^_

* * *

Ryou sighed audibly as he walked into the kitchen. Keiichiro, who was decorating a cake, looked up at the blonde teenager, "What's wrong?"

"_She's _here." Ryou stated simply.

"Who?"

"Button Johnson-"

"The first Mew," Keiichiro finished.

"And the biggest pain in the ass the world has to offer," the blonde added. "Here are their orders."

Keiichiro looked over the list, "We have all of those cooked, but-"

Ryou shook his head, "I have no idea, Keiichiro."

Keiichiro smiled, "Well, I'm a little backed up on orders so..."

"What?! No way in hell I'm going to do all that work!"

The older of the two shrugged, "I guess we're going to lose one of the few chances to make sure Button's a Mew."

Ryou sighed again, "Fine, but I'm not doing it for her, I'm only doing it for the sake of Earth."

"Whatever you say, Ryou."

* * *

Ryou set both of the orders in front of the waiting Button and Marine, "Is that all?"

Button looked at her food, "Now that I think about it, I want a strawberry milkshake too."

"You have got to be kidding me!" he exclaimed.

Button smirked, "Oh, I'm sorry, I thought this was a _restaurant_, you know a place to by quality food."

Ryou glared at her. Maybe he should just let the world get destroyed because there was no possible way he could even come close to being nice to this girl. "Quality _food. _Not quality decorations."

She stood up, becoming level with him, well as level as she could be being an inch shorter. "_You _were the one who asked me if that was all I wanted."

"It's a figure of speech!" he shouted. Man, this girl was more annoying than Ichigo!

"Figure of speech or not, I want a strawberry milkshake!"

Correction, she was worse than any other girl he had ever met. "Well go make the damn milkshake yourself then!"

"Maybe I will!"

"Fine! I'm sick of serving you anyways!"

"And I'm sick of you being a cocky and arrogant asshole who thinks he's better than everyone else!"

"Maybe I wouldn't be such an asshole if you were such a prissy little brat! Who do you think you are, the Queen of Sheba? Didn't your parents ever teach you to be polite?!"

The slap surprised him. He blinked blankly at Button for a second before seeing the tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. What did he say? She set her jaw firmly in place and straightened up, "Where is your bathroom?"

"Behind those doors," he told her, still in a bit of shock.

She nodded, biting her lip to bite back a small sob, then stomped off towards the bathroom. "Way to go Ryou!" one of the other girls in the cafe called. "You tell that bitch!"

Ryou glanced at Marine, who glared at him menacingly. He had no idea her soft green eyes could hold so much fire. "You better tell her you're sorry," she told him, her voice telling him not to argue.

He nodded and walked to the doors to follow Button. Marine looked at the other girls, "Show's over. Go back to your food."

They all nodded, terror in their eyes, and returned to what they were doing.

* * *

Button gripped the edges of the sink, staring into the mirror as she breathed heavily. Only a few tears had slipped off her face into the sink, but she refused to let anymore break through her dam. She bit her lip, watching her reflection. Her reddish-brown hair was a trait she had inherited from her father, but her hazel eyes was her mother's touch. Where her porcelain skin came from, she had no idea. Her mother was Native American and her father was Mexican, both of them with different hues of tan. Silently, she slid her eyes closed and let a small sigh escaped from her mouth. "Are you in there, Button?"

It was Ryou's voice. She couldn't deal with him right now, the insensitive bastard. "Go away!" she called.

"Look, I'm sorry Button. Whatever I said, I'm sorry."

"Get the hell away from me!" she screamed.

"I won't leave until you accept my apology," he stated.

"Then we're both going to be here for a long time."

She saw his shadow sit on the ground, "Fine by me. Why'd you freak out?"

"None of your damn business," she snapped.

"I was just asking!" he retorted.

"Well next time, just don't."

"Okay," he told her, not moving.

Realizing he meant he was not leaving, she sighed, sitting on the other side of the door. "Don't you have customers to take care of?"

"Keiichiro can handle them," he told her.

"Doesn't matter," she said.

"What do you mean?"

Button pulled her knees up to her chest, "You have a responsibility to help them. It doesn't matter if someone else can do it, it's your responsibility and your's alone."

On the other side, Ryou glanced at the door upon hearing her words. He couldn't see her, but he could imagine her with her chin on her knees, staring at the wall ahead. He still didn't have a reason or an acceptance to his apology, but he stood up. "You're right. I'm sorry I've upset you, Button."

She didn't reply and he walked away, leaving Button alone. She dragged herself to her feet, peeking out the doors for any signs of the blonde idiot. Nope. Sighing, she left the bathroom and returned to Marine, who smiled softly at her. "You okay?" she asked.

Button nodded, finishing her food in silence.

* * *

_How was it? Was it good? Is romance blooming? What is the secret behind Button's past? Stay tuned to find out in the next episode of Phoenix Mew Mew!_


	6. Mew Mew Cherry

_"Marine!" Button shouted as she reached out her hand towards her friend before Marine was swallowed into the darkness._

_But she was too late, the black enveloped Marine, making her disappear, forever. Button fell to her knees at the edge of the hole, screaming until her voice gave out. Warm tears slid down her cheeks, her body shaking with tears as she thrashed her head back and forth. "It's a pity. She was quite an interesting girl," a voice said above her._

_Button spun to her feet, glaring at the man responsible for this. For the deaths of all of her friends. "Amethyst," she growled, fury consuming her. _

* * *

Button jolted up, sweat streaming down her face, making her hair stick to the back of her neck. She looked around as she breathed heavily, trying to regain her surroundings. She was in her bedroom, the clock on her nightstand displaying the time. 12:01 A.M. She sighed in relief. it was just a dream. It was all just a dream. A horrible, terrifying dream. "It was so real though," she said quietly before lying back down to fall into a blissfully dreamless slumber.

* * *

Button walked out of the store, carrying her heavy groceries with a frown plastered onto her face. She was halfway to her house when someone stopped her by putting a hand on her shoulder. She spun around, coming face to face with a pair of aqua eyes. "What do you want, Blondie?"

"I need to talk to you," he said seriously.

"If it's about Saturday, I don't want to hear it," she told him, walking away.

He grabbed her wrist, yanking her around to face him, "It's about something else. Actually, it's about that mark on your wrist."

She glared at him as she ripped her arm from his grip, "What about it?"

"Keiichiro told me to tell you, because we don't know when something's going to happen. but I don't think we should."

"Then why are you talking to me?"

"Because-"

A loud explosion interrupted him and they both jumped, turning towards the source of the ground-shaking boom. "I guess I won't have to explain it to you."

"What the hell are you talking about?!" she demanded.

Ryou didn't reply, but instead took her grocery bags, hid them behind a tree, grabbed her arm and began to run. "Where the hell are you taking me?! Blondie? Ryou!"

He didn't say anything until the two of them were standing by a place surrounded by concerned people. Smoke curled into the sky, parts of what had to be a building lying on the ground, still glowing from burning embers. Screams echoed through the air, mixing with the sounds of ambulances and firetrucks. "Why'd you bring me here?" Button asked, her hazel eyes wide as she stared at what was left of the skyscraper, injured people scrambling out of the doors and windows.

"You're going in there," Ryou told her.

"What?! No I'm not!" she exclaimed.

"Yes you are. Unless you want all of the people in the building to die, you are going to go in there."

"Why can't you do it?" she looked at him.

"I can't do what you can," he said.

"What does that mean?"

He pressed something into her hand, "Get somewhere out of view, say what comes to mind, and sneak into the building. Can you do that, or is it too complicated for you're little brain?"

She glared at him, "I can do that just fine, thank you."

He smirked, "Prove it."

"Fine, I will!"

She stomped away from him and hid in the alleyway next to a nearby building. She looked at Ryou had given her. A small gold pendant with two white leaves like the one on her wrist. She stared at it, entranced as she cried, "Mew Mew Cherry Metamorphose!", placing the pendant over the center of her chest.

An iridescent red glow encased her body, a strange yet calming tingling sensation spreading over her skin, burning in the place where her mark was. The glow dimmed, leaving a completely different version of Button standing in the center of the alleyway. She slid open her eyes, facing a window and screamed when she saw her reflection. Her hair was tied into two ringlet-like pigtails and was bright red, matching her glowing eyes. Two red raccoon-like ears with tufts of white fur protruded from her skull and a long red and white bushy tail swept against the ground softly behind her.

Her outfit had also changed. Her school uniform had transformed into a red sleeveless dress that clung to her body with two orange wraps fastened in the back with a large bow that had ribbons reaching just below the back of her knees. Her school's plain navy blue skirt was now two-layered, the top layer being red with lines running up and down it and the bottom being frilly and delicately folded and orange in color. Two puffed cuffs rested on either of her biceps, being red with orange trimming. On her feet, she wore a pair of knee-length wedged boots that were orange with red lacing in the back from the heel to the top. On her hands was a pair of orange fingerless gloves flaring out at the top with a red edges circling them. The pendant she was previously holding was now fastened to the red with orange lacing choker on her neck.

Button gawked at herself in the window's reflection. What had Ryou given her? After a moment of staring, she took off through the back alley's towards where the explosion had happened. She quickly found a window in what was left of the skyscraper and swung into it. _What the hell am I supposed to do? _she wondered, walking into the main area that was filled with smoke.

Coughing slightly, she covered her mouth, her eyes stinging. _God, why did I listen to Ryou?!_ That's when she noticed it. A large ball of fire in one of the other rooms. _What the hell? _As she neared it, she could see that the fireball had the shape of a human. It spun around, facing her. For a moment, she and the thing just stared at each other. Unexpectedly, it lashed out at her and she jumped into the air, grabbing onto one of the overhead lights and swinging her body on top of it, crouching. The thing shot another fireball towards her and she jumped to the next light, dangling from it. Was she supposed to fight the human fireball? It obviously caused the fire. She looked around anxiously for something to use as a weapon. It could just burn everything though.

Unconsciously, she dropped to the floor, reaching behind her. Her hand came in contact with what felt like a small gem in the center of the bow on her back. She gripped it, easily plucking it out. It was about the size of a small ball and red. She launched it into the air, a small red glow encasing it. The glow disappeared, a scepter in place of the ball. The scepter's staff was white and had a large white ball on top of it, surrounded by small cherries, a red bow below it, with a small gem in the center of the bow. She easily caught the scepter in her hand, twirling it between her fingers, then sweeping it in front of her crying out, "Red Cherry Ribbon!"

As the scepter moved through the air, a small ribbon of red light followed it, reminding Button of a gymnastic ribbon. The ribbon-like light shot towards the monster, wrapping around it until it was enclosed in a small glowing ball. The ball exploded like glass shards, the lights evaporating into thin air. A man dropped to the ground and the monster was no where to be seen, the fire also vanishing though smoke remained. Confused, the man sat up, holding his head. "What happened?"

Using the smoke to conceal herself, Button said, "You should hurry, the building is full of smoke.

The man coughed and nodded. When he was gone, Button jumped out of the nearest window that led into an alley, landing on her feet. In a flash of red light, she returned to normal, showing no visible signs of being in the fire. She bolted to where Ryou was still standing. "You have a hell of a lot explaining to do, Blondie!"

"So you defeated it?" he asked, smirking.

"What exactly was_ it_?" she growled.

* * *

_How was it? Thanks to VanillaBerry DayDream for Mew Cherry's uniform! ^_^_


	7. Mew Two

Button sat in one of the cafe's chairs, watching bot Keiichiro and Ryou in front of her as they stared back at her. They had both just told her everything and truthfully she was debating her sanity as well as theirs. The silence seemed to drag on forever, with Ryou leaning back in his chair, Keiichiro sitting straight and Button somewhere in the middle. Suddenly, she let out a long sigh, pushing herself up from the chair. Ryou and Keiichiro's eyes followed her. She looked down at them, "Please excuse me as I go check into the mental ward. Anyone want to come with me?"

"You think we're lying?" Keiichiro asked.

"Oh no, of course not. I just think that maybe it's the truth for _you_."

"So, we're insane," Ryou confirmed.

"Yes. No offense you two (except maybe Blondie), but unfortunately for you, I'm am _not _an anime magical girl. I'm just a normal sixteen year old girl," she stated.

"Then how do you explain the transformation?" Ryou questioned.

"Excuse me?"

"The transformation. The wardrobe change? The flame monster? The magical weapon? How do you explain that?"

"I-"

"Exactly, you have no way to, do you? The only way to explain it is: You _are _a Mew. You _are _infused with the DNA of a Red Panda. And you _are _destined to save the world from aliens."

"Or... I'm just as insane as you two," she said.

"Fine then. Go check yourself into the mental ward. Keiichiro here and I will just find the other five Mews and save the world without you. It's your choice, Button. We won't force you to do anything," Ryou told her, also standing up.

"Prove it."

"Prove what?"

"Prove I'm a 'Mew'."

"All of the other stuff should be proof enough," he exclaimed.

"Calm down, Ryou," Keiichiro said, pushing himself to his feet. "Follow me, Miss Button."

He began walking in the direction of the kitchen and Button hesitantly followed him, Ryou coming up behind her. Keiichiro led the two of them through the kitchen, out of the next set of doors, through a hall, and down a set of stairs.

Button stared in awe at the basement of the cafe. Keiichiro walked up to the large computer, typing something into the keyboard. "Now, as you can see. This is the DNA of a red panda."

A strand of DNA appeared on the screen. She was so busy looking at it, she didn't notice Ryou until he plucked a hair from her head. "Ow!" she exclaimed. "What was that for?"

Ryou ignored her and put the hair into some weird thingamabob. Another strand of DNA appeared on the screen after a moment. "And this is your DNA," Keiichiro explained. "If we overlap the two-"

The two strands moved towards each other and overlapped, forming a perfect match. "Of course, this is only a small part of you're genetic make-up, so you are still human, but you can be infused with the DNA of a red panda. Thus, a Mew is created."

"I guess I have no choice but to believe you," she sighed, lowering her head."But you still aren't forgiven for making me run into burning building, Ryou!"

* * *

"What the hell?! What kind of uniform is this?" Button exclaimed, looking at her Mew Mew Cafe uniform.

It was like a red maid's uniform with orange trim, but with a pair of black flats and white knee-high socks, the apron shaped like a heart. "What's wrong with it?" Keiichiro asked. "You look adorable."

She rolled her eyes, glancing at Ryou who seemed to be averting his eyes from her. She sighed, "I can learn to live with it. So, what do I have to do first as the new Mew leader?"

"Find the other Mews," Keiichiro instructed.

"I think I know one," Button admitted quietly.

"What? Who?" Ryou asked, rejoining the conversation.

"My friend, Marine Porter. She has a mark right here," Button touched the side of her thigh which was barely visible in the Cafe uniform.

"That girl who came with you on Saturday?" Keiichiro questioned.

Button nodded, "That's the one. I think I'll tell though."

"Tell her at school," Ryou told her. "Then bring her to the Cafe after the last bell."

"Fine. I guess I'll be going now."

"You can change back into your normal clothes and leave your uniform here," Keiichiro said.

"Thank-you."

* * *

Marine and Button settled down at their normal bench for lunch. "Got my salmon?" Marine asked excitedly.

She had won the bet fair and square, getting the last number on the way back from the Cafe. Button rolled her eyes, giving her friend the food. "Hey, Marine?"

"Yeah?" the blonde girl asked in between a bite of salmon.

"You know those marks we got? Well, I figured out what they are."

"Really? What are they?" Marine exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

Button quickly and quietly explained everything, including her own experience. Marine just stared at her. "And there you have it," Button finished.

"Are you kidding or just crazy?"

"That's what I thought, but-"

"After seeing the effects and the explanation, you changed you're mind?" Marine finished.

Button nodded. "I guess it is possible," the blonde said.

"So, you believe me?"

"Well," Marine explained. "It's either believe you or lose my only friend, so I guess I do believe you."

The brunette smiled, "Thank goodness. We have to go to the Cafe after school."

Marine tapped her chin thoughtfully, "So, Ryou is part of all of this, huh? Interesting."

"What do you mean 'interesting'?" Button demanded.

"Oh nothing!" Marine giggled.

"You're kind of weird, you know that?"

She laughed, "Yep, no doubt about that!"

* * *

"You look so cute!" Button exclaimed, looking at her friend in her Mew Mew Cafe uniform. It looked exactly the same as Button's but it was teal with purple trim.

The two girls were in the changing rooms, getting ready for their first day of work. Marine looked down at her dress, "You sure it's not to showy?"

Button waved away the question, fastening the last button on her own uniform, "You look wonderful, Marine."

She began to braid her brown hair and draped the braid over her shoulder. "I wonder what animal your DNA is infused with," she wondered aloud as she pulled up her socks and slipped on her shoes.

"Me too," Marine admitted, switching out her seashell hair ties for simpler purple ones. "I hope they can finish the matching test quickly."

A knock came on the door. "Come in!" Button called and Ryou came in. "What do you need, Blondie?"

"I have Marine's DNA matching results," he told them.

"Yay!" Marine exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "What am I?"

"A Mediterranean Monk Seal."

"Explains your sudden love for fish," Button added.

"I guess it does! This is so exciting!" Marine clapped her hands together two more times.

"And now," Ryou said. "I have a gift for both of you, because Button is the leader and you, Marine, are second-in-command."

He pulled out two fluff-balls from behind his back. One was red and the other was purple. "Say activate," Ryou instructed them.

Marine and Button looked at each other, but said "Activate" anyways.

A small whirring sound came from each of the things as they both suddenly levitated into the air. Suddenly, a pair of eyes appeared on each of the fluff-balls. The red one with the orange eyes zoomed towards Button, flapping it's small bat-like wings while the purple one with the teal eyes flew to Marine. "These are robots that can sense alien activity," Ryou explained.

"Hello!" the red one said.

"Oh my god! It's so adorable!" Button exclaimed, practically tackling it with a hug. "I'm going to call you Velvet."

"Actually it's name is-" Ryou started.

"What are going to call your's, Marine?" Button interrupted.

"Lilac," Marine replied, smiling at the little robot.

Ryou shook his head, "Girls never change no matter what country they're in."

But the two girls were too busy fawning over their robots to hear him.


	8. Amethyst

_I changed Button's real name to Belle Johnson, because Marie and Marine sound way too much alike._

* * *

"And that's all you need to know," Keiichiro finished, looking at the two Mews in front of him.

He was telling them how to serve the customers, because Mew Mew Cafe was still a restaurant after all. Marine raised her hand for the tenth time, "But what if we don't have what they ask for?"

Ryou groaned while Keiichiro smiled softly, "You just tell them it isn't available."

"Right," Marine bobbed her head determinedly.

"Should I open the doors?" Button asked.

"That would be wonderful," Keiichiro said. "Do you have anymore questions, Marine?"

"Yes act-"

Button left the room to go open the doors and Ryou followed her, not wanting to answer more ridiculous questions. "You sure you can handle customers?" Ryou asked.

She glanced at him, "Of course I can, Blondie."

"You better not scare them away by glaring at all of them," he chuckled.

She spun around and glared at him, inadvertently proving his point. He just laughed in response, "Won't work on me, Flat Chest."

"Stop calling me that! I'm not flat!" she exclaimed.

"You are flatter than most sixteen year old girls. I know a thirteen year old girl with a bigger chest."

"Well good for her!"

The two continued to argue while Marine and Keiichiro watched them from the kitchen. "If they could stop arguing for two minutes, they'd be a really cute couple," Marine said softly.

"They're just stubborn," Keiichiro replied. "Quite entertaining though."

"Yes. Button still needs to open the door."

As if Button had heard them, she walked to the door, throwing it open with amazing flourish. Then, it was if a completely different person had taken Button's place. She smiled brightly to all of the people outside, but not enough to scare them. She bowed slightly, "Good afternoon, my name is Belle and welcome to Mew Mew Cafe."

She quickly and efficiently led everyone to their seats, smiling, complimenting, introducing. The other three watched her, startled. Button motioned for Marine to come over and the shy girl tentatively walked to her. "This is Marine, she'll be your server," Button told the three girls sitting at the table.

Suddenly, Button came over with orders, grabbed the things on her lists that were already made and a tray. Then, as if it was a graceful dance, she began to deliver the food while Keiichiro started to make the other things on the lists. Ryou could do nothing but stare at Button with her completely different persona. Somehow, though, it ended as soon as it had started.

"Close you're mouth, Blondie. Don't want to catch any flies, do you?"

Ryou blinked blankly and saw Button wiping down the tables, smirking at him. "Enjoy the show?" she asked. "Marine already left, not that you'd notice. Keiichiro said he needed to run to the store before they closed."

"Oh, well I'm going to bed then," Ryou told her.

He started to walk to his room when Button suddenly said, "Hey Ryou?"

He turned around to look at her. She lowered her head, "I know I'm going to sound like a baby, but can you walk me home? I-I don't feel comfortable walking home in the dark alone..."

There was an awkward silence before Ryou said, "sure". She looked up, surprised. She expected him to call her a baby, among other things. He walked over to the door and grabbed his coat off the rack. Button excused herself to change back into her school uniform. She came out, unbraiding her hair, "Thanks for this. I know it seems like a stupid request."

"You owe me big time, Flat Chest," he mumbled as they left the cafe, Velvet following them.

She glared at him, "You don't have to if you don't want to, Ryou."

He laughed, "Can't have the leader of the Mews getting kidnapped, can I? I mean, where would the world be if you suddenly disappeared?"

She crossed her arms over her chest, "So if I wasn't the leader of the Mews, you'd let me get kidnapped?"

"Maybe. At least I wouldn't have to argue with you again."

She stuck her tongue out at him, "You always start it."

Velvet sighed. The little red robot had only been around the two of them for a day and he was already tired of their arguing.

"Do I?" Ryou asked.

"Yes."

"I don't-"

Suddenly a bloodcurdling scream echoed through the neighborhood, cutting Ryou off. Button looked to her left, "It came from this direction."

Velvet stared flapping his arms eagerly, "Alien alert! Alien alert!"

Button bolted off towards the direction of the scream, pulling out her pendant from her pocket. "Mew Mew Cherry Metamorphose!" she called out, placing the pendant over her chest.

* * *

Button as Mew Cherry pulled to a stop at the park. Unexpectedly, Marine came up next to her, breathing heavily. "You need to transform!" Button told her.

Marine nodded, pulling out her own pendant, "Mew Mew Grape Metamorphose!"

A purple light enveloped Marine. When it dimmed, she looked completely different. Her hair had turned a dark teal color, the seashells on her hair ties becoming larger and her green eyes had transformed into dark blue abysses. Her purple bodice fanned out like two tulip- shaped flower petals, a purple miniskirt reaching her mid thigh with teal lace trimming, a purple with teal garter on her right thigh. On her feet, she wore a pair of plain purple flats and her hands were covered with plain teal fingerless gloves. Her pendant was attached to her choker on her neck, just like Button's.

Marine shouted slightly in surprise. Button made a motion for her to be quite and the purple Mew nodded once. "We don't know what it could be," Button told her. "So keep you're guard up."

Marine nodded as she and Button walked into the park, keeping close to the ground. The scream echoed again, but this time it was much louder and the two girls had to throw their hands over their ears. They walked into a clearing in the middle of the park. That's when they saw it. A huge crow like thing standing in the middle of the clearing. It turned around to face them and screamed, or rather cawed, again, sending an impossible gust of wind towards them. "What are we supposed to do?!" Marine screamed as she fought to keep her footing at the blast of air.

"Use your weapon!" Button yelled back, shielding her face from the whip of air.

Marine barely nodded, calling out, "Grape Tambourine!"

A purple tambourine appeared in Marine's hand and she shook it twice, "Grape Defense Barrier!"

A purple light flashed in front of them and suddenly, a huge ice-like wall was in front of them. "Good job!" Button yelled, reaching for the ball on her bow.

She launched it into the air, catching the scepter and twirling it, "Red Cherry Ribbon!"

The barrier disappeared and the ribbon of light encased the monster, shattering once again. A woman in all black dropped to the ground as a normal sized crow flew away like nothing had happened. "Impressive!" a voice boomed.

Button froze, that voice, it couldn't be. She slowly turned her head upwards. A tall and slender male figure appeared in the sky. In the moonlight, the two girls could barely make out his dark purple hair and piercing red eyes as he looked down at them. Fear consumed Button as she stared at him. He smiled, "Hello, Mews. My name is Amethyst."

It was him, the man from her dream. Then, everything went black.


	9. Forever Dreaming?

"Button! Button!" Marine screamed at her friend, whose laid practically lifeless on the grass, her chest barely moving up and down.

After the appearance of Amethyst, Button just collapsed. Marine transformed back to normal and Button had transformed after losing consciousness. What happened to her?! She glanced at the sky, but didn't see the man in the sky anymore. "Button!" she shouted again.

Marine looked up when she heard footsteps and saw Ryou running towards them, Velvet and Lilac trailing after him. He knelt down next to them, checking Button's vital signs. "What happened?" he asked a terrified Marine, pressing his fingers against Button's wrist. There was a pulse. Good.

"We fought this giant crow thing and then this guy named Amethyst appeared out of nowhere and Button looked so scared then she just collapsed! I don't know what to do!" Marine explained quickly, tears shining behind her green eyes.

"Slow down, Marine!"

She nodded and repeated herself more slowly. Ryou scooped Button up, one arm under her legs, the other under her shoulder blades, her head resting against his chest. "She'll be fine, Marine. Do you know how to get a hold of her parents?" he asked.

Marine shook her head, "I've never even met her parents."

"Well, that's just great," Ryou muttered under his breath. To Marine he said, "You should go home, Marine. I'll-"

"No. I'm not leaving my best-friend," she stated, tears streaming down her face.

"Won't your family be worried about you? I'll call you when she wakes up, okay?"

Marine nodded, "O-Okay. You promise you'll call me?"

"I promise, Marine."

"You better!"

* * *

_Button's eyes slid open and she found herself staring into a dense fog. "What happened?" she asked herself, trying to move forward. __She couldn't._

_**You're quite and interesting girl**,_ _a voice said above her._

_It was Amethyst. She looked around for him but didn't see him anywhere. "Where are you, coward?!" she yelled._

**_Calling me a coward are we? You're the one trying to push away your__ past. _**

_"What are you talking about?" she asked, her voice lowering._

**_You know what I'm talking about. Your mother and father, not to mention your little brother and sisters. _**

_"Shut up!" she screamed, falling to her knees. "Just shut up!"_

**_Poor little Button. She lost everything and it was all her fault. Of course, no one knows that. _**

_"Please," she clenched her hands into fists, staring at the nonexistent ground. "Please stop."_

**_Oh, but I don't want to. You're mind is just such an interesting thing. How about those friends of your's, or should I say ex-friends? _**

_"I begging you, please stop," Button cried, tears streaming down her face._

* * *

Ryou looked down at Button, suddenly stopping. Was she... crying? Her face was filled with pain, not physical pain, emotional pain. He had seen that look on his own face too many times to not notice it. Her hands clenched, one wrapping around his shirt tightly. "Hold on Button," he whispered as he took off again.

* * *

_**Your own grandparents don't even want to deal with you.**_

_"That's not true!" Button screamed at Amethyst. _

**_Then why are you here and not there? No one cares about you, Button. You just hurt anyone and everyone who comes in contact with you. And you know it, don't you? Well, I have some other business to attend to. I'll be keeping in contact, 'Mew Cherry'..._**

_His voice drifted off and Button was alone. She brought her shaking hands in front of her face. he was right. All she could bring was pain to the people around her. It was all she ever did. As much as she hated to admit it, she couldn't protect those dear to her. She couldn't do anything to help them. She was nothing but a burden._

* * *

Ryou burst through the door and hurried past a flustered Keiichiro into his room. He carefully laid Button down on his bed. She was still crying. Tentatively, he pressed a hand against her forehead. She was burning up. He called for Keiichiro who came in with a wet washcloth. "What happened?" the older man asked.

Ryou explained what little Marine had told him, placing the washcloth on Button's forehead. Keiichiro said he was going to try and find out anything about what was wrong with Button. Ryou barely acknowledged him with a nod as he stared at the unconscious girl. About five minutes after Keiichiro left, Ryou heard something. He stopped pacing and looked at Button. "Nothing but a burden," she mumbled in her sleep.

What did she mean? He knelt at the edge of the bed and barely reached a hand out when Button bolted up, breathing heavily. Clearly startled, she looked at the wall, then her hazel eyes slowly shifted to a surprised Ryou. She watched him for a moment and he watched her back. She clearly still wasn't completely there. Suddenly, her breath caught in her throat as more tears streamed down her face. To his surprise, she moved over and hugged him, silently crying into his shoulder. Not quite sure what to do, he awkwardly wrapped his arms around her, smoothing down her hair. "It's okay, Button," he whispered. "I'm here. You're safe now."

He didn't hear her say, "I'm never safe."

* * *

_Ooh... I bet you are all wondering what happened in Button's past. And: Awww! Ryou does have a soul! Awkward moment at the end, right? Please review!_


	10. Let Me In

Button's eyes fluttered open and she found herself staring at a white ceiling. She had a huge headache. Groaning, she pushed herself up. Only to scream. She wasn't in her room. Where was she? Suddenly, Ryou burst in, "Are you okay?"

"Besides the fact I have no idea where the hell I am, yeah I'm fine!" she yelled back.

Ryou sighed in relief, "You're in my room at the Cafe."

Her eyes widened, "Why the hell am I in your room?!"

"You fainted after your-uh-meeting with Amethyst. I don't know where you live, so..."

"Oh, thank-you," she looked at the sheets, blushing furiously.

She swing her legs out of the bed, pushing herself to her feet. Bad idea. She crumpled and Ryou ran to her, catching her in his arms. "Not a good idea, Flat Chest."

"Get your arms off of me or I swear to God I will throw you out the window," she grumbled.

He chuckled, "I don't think you could do that."

She glared at him, "Wanna bet, Blondie."

He back off, taking two steps back, "Okay, sorry. I'm not the one who got all clingy last night."

Button used the bed to push herself to her feet, "What'd you just say? Why the hell would I get all clingy with _you_?"

A small blush appeared on Ryou's cheeks, "Y-you don't remember?"

"Am I supposed to remember something?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

He shook his head, "No. Nothing."

"Okay... How long was I out?" she sat on the edge of the bed.

"About two days," Ryou told her.

"What?! You're kidding, right?!"

He laughed, "No. Oh and Marine found two other Mews."

"Two? In that short time?"

"Well, they're twins so..."

"So, she found them together," Button finished.

"Yep. Would you mind telling me why you fainted?"

She stared at her hands, "It's was nothing. Probably used too much energy."

Judging by the far off look in her eye, she wasn't telling him the whole story, but he didn't press the matter. "Marine and the others are downstairs. Do you want to go see them?"

"I'm still too weak to walk," she said quietly.

He walked over to her and offered her his hand. She looked at him, but he was looking away. She grabbed his hand and he pulled her up. She leaned on his arm as the two of them walked downstairs into the cafe.

"No Holly, it's the other cabinet!" an unknown voice yelled from the kitchen.

"I-I'm sorry, Amaya," a calmer quieter voice replied.

"It's okay, Holly."

Button smiled. The last voice was Marine. Ryou led Button into the kitchen where two unfamiliar girls and Marine were. Marine was the first to see her. "Button!" she exclaimed, tackling her friend into a hug.

The Mew Leader gave her best-friend a small smile when Marine pulled away. "Oh I'm sorry! You're probably still a little weak."

"A little."

Button looked at the other two girls in their cafe uniforms. Ryou had called them twins, but they looked very different. The one on the right dressed in her uniform that was dark green with white trimming had brown-black hair pulled into a bun with bangs covering one eye and dark brown eyes. Whereas her sister dressed in her light green with black trimming uniform had raven black hair and piercing blue eyes. The girl in dark green stepped forward, "H-hi. You must be Button, I'm Holly Leafgreen, I'm infused with the DNA of a Silver Wolf. And the other girl is my sister-"

"I can introduce myself!" the other girl interrupted, stepping forward, "I'm Amaya Leafgreen, infused with the DNA of a Mountain Viper."

Different appearances, different personalities. Button smiled at both of them, "I'm Button. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Are you okay?" Marine asked, concern noticeable in her voice.

"I'm fine," Button replied.

"We couldn't contact your parents. You should call them, I bet they're worried about you," Ryou interjected.

Button visibly paled, "N-no, it's okay. They're on vacation."

Ryou glanced at her. He could tell she was lying, but why would you lie about something like that? Button smiled weakly, "I should get home, though. Peanut's been unattended for two days."

"Oh!" Marine exclaimed. "I hope you don't mind, but I've been taking care of him. Since I know where you live, I borrowed the key from your bag."

"Thank-you. I usually fill his food bowl before I leave for school but know how dogs can be. Hey, where's Keiichiro?"

"He's doing research about that Amethyst guy," Ryou answered.

"Did he find anything?"

Ryou shook his head, "No, not yet. Come on, I'll take you home."

The two walked over to the garage in the back and Ryou helped her into the sleek red car. "Thank-you," Button said quietly as Ryou pulled onto the street. "For everything."

He shrugged, "It's no problem. Are you sure you don't remember anything about Amethyst?"

Button looked at her hands, "He somehow wormed his way into my mind."

Ryou glanced at her sideways, "Like he read your mind?"

She nodded, "He knows a lot about me."

"What do you mean by 'a lot'?"

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, glancing at Ryou, "Everything."

He frowned, "Button, I can help you, but to do that, you're going to have let me in."

She turned away from him, staring out the window, "I can't, Ryou."

"Why the hell can't you?!" he snapped, making her jump.

She glared at him, "Because I can't! Trust me, Ryou, I can't let anyone in. No one, not ever."

"You're a lot like me," Ryou commented quietly.

Button's eyes softened, "How?"

"You think you can't let anyone in. You keep all of your emotions bottled up inside," he looked at her. "You need to let people in, Button. If you keep it all to yourself, it will only hurt one person. You."

She bit her lip, "A long time ago, I decided to shut off the part of me that wants to confide in people. I found that all it did was bring misery to me and the people around me. I'd love to tell you, Ryou, but I can't let people in. Too many things have happened in my life and most of them were caused by me. If you are like me, you'll understand. Here's my house."

Ryou pulled to a stop in front of Button's house, "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

She nodded, climbing out of the car, "I'll be fine. See you tomorrow, kay."

She smiled weakly at him., then disappeared into her home. Ryou sighed, resting his head against the steering wheel. Something about her was different, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. That's when he realized something. That was the first time Button had ever smiled at him.

* * *

_Okay, I got lazy with Amaya and Holly. -_- I'll probably explain how Marine met them later on. Another moment between Ryou and Button. Yay! Thanks to MewMewpom for Amaya and MewMewLight271 for Holly. I hope you guys don't mind me making them twins. ^_^ _


	11. Changing Room Discussions

The next day, Button appeared in the cafe, breathless. She had almost been late, because she had to make up a test she missed while she was unconscious. She bent over, breathing heavily, her hands resting on her knees. When she straightened up, she found Holly looking at her worriedly with her big brown eyes. "Are you okay, Miss Button?"

"Fine. I just ran at full speed for a few blocks is all. And please, just call me Button. There's no need for formalities."

Holly nodded, "Okay. Well, Ryou was wo-"

A hand clamped over the silver wolf's mouth and Button looked up at Ryou, "What was the point of that?"

He took his hand off of Holly's mouth, making her scurry away. "Nothing," he shrugged, looking away.

"Well, I'm going to go get changed before we open," she said, watching him suspiciously as she walked past him.

She found Marine still getting ready in the changing room. "Are you sure you should be working?" she asked, concern in her voice.

Button waved a dismissive hand, "I'll be fine, Marine. Not sure how I stayed out that long, though. I'm sorry I worried you."

"It's okay. You know who was really worried about you?"

The Mew leader tilted her head, "Who?"

"Ryou," Marine stated as she changed her hair ties.

Surprised, Button dropped her shoes, "Eh?! Why would Ryou be worried about me? He doesn't even like me!"

"He was so worried that we could barely get him away from the bedside. He was all like 'What if she wakes up?'; 'What if she's scared'; 'What if that Amethyst did something to her?'. I have to admit it was kind of annoying." she sighed. "It was really sweet though."

The other girl quickly gathered up her shoes, stuffing them in the locker. "You're teasing me, Marine."

The blonde girl shook her head, "No, I'm serious. If you don't believe me, why don't you ask him yourself?"

Button whipped her head back and forth, blushing furiously, "N-no! That would be embarrassing! It's bad enough he carried me all the way here and let me sleep in his bed for two days!"

Marine giggled. "Why are you getting all defensive, Button?" an evil glint appeared in her eye, "Do you like him?"

"No way I would ever like that asshole!" she exclaimed.

"Relax Button, I'm just teasing."

Button sighed in relief, "You are not that shy girl everyone thinks you are."

"And you aren't the cold-hearted person everyone thinks you are," Marine added, walking out of the room.

The brunette looked at herself in the small mirror on her locker door, "I'm not so sure about that."

* * *

When Button walked in the cafe, she saw the other Mews gathered around Ryou and Keiichiro. She wandered up to them, "What's going on?"

Velvet flew in front of her face, "There's an alien!"

Button glanced at Keiichiro who bobbed his head. "Let's go girls!"

All of the other nodded and said a simultaneous "Right!".

"Mew Mew Cherry Metamorphose!" Button called, transforming.

Marine followed, exclaiming, "Mew Mew Grape Metamorphose."

Holly and Amaya linked arms, pressing their pendants together as Holly said "Mew Mew Kiwi Metamorphose" and Amaya said "Mew Mew Lime Metamorphose".

Dark green light enveloped Holly while light green light did the same with Amaya. When the light dimmed, they had transformed. Holly's hair was now down and reached mid-waist and her eyes gleamed dark green with a pair of black white-tipped wolf ears sat on her head, a swishing black wolf tail on her backside. Amaya's hair was braided down her back, the end slightly pointed and curling like a scorpion's stinger and her eyes gleamed yellow with snake pupils. The two had matching outfits except Amaya's was light green with black accents and Holly's was dark green with white accents. They each had tube-tops and a miniskirt, the garter resting on their thigh. On their feet they wore baggy ankle-length boots with bows on the top and their hands were covered with elbow-high gloves, their pendants fastened around their neck with chokers.

Button observed each of them before hurrying out of the doors, the others close behind. She glanced at Velvet who flapped faithfully beside her, "Where is it?"

"At the Activities Center a few blacks from here," the small red robot answered.

She nodded and ran towards the Activities Center.

* * *

Button and the other burst into the front room of the building, only to see... People in costumes? "Where are we?" Marine wondered aloud.

"Ah! Nerds!" Amaya exclaimed.

Holly jumped excitedly, "We're at the Phoenix Comic-Con!"

"Comic-Con?" Button said, looking at the people in costumes that passed them.

"Would the Mew Mews please report to the auditorium?" a voice said over the intercom.

"This can't be good," the Leader mumbled.

* * *

_Sorry! I know it's short. I'll make it up to you with a longer chapter next time. Promise! _


	12. The Tiger of Comic-Con

Button walked up to the front desk where a woman stood, a smile fixed on her face. "May I help you?" she asked, the extremely creepy smile never faltering.

"Yes, we're the-um-Mew Mews and we need directions to the auditorium."

"Oh, we've been expecting you. Just go through those doors and turn right. I love your costumes by the way, those ears looks so real!"

"Thank-you!" Button exclaimed, scurrying off, the memory of that smile sending a shiver down her face.

She entered the doors, only to be surrounded by more cosplayers and assorted nerds. She groaned, pushing her way through the crowd ignoring the compliments people were giving her. Holly seemed enthralled by all of this and Amaya had to drag her sister away from the multipurpose stands. "But I'll just be a minute!" Holly whined, trying to reach for something.

"It looks like our silver wolf is a closet nerd," Marine whispered to Button who was still making people move aside.

"I guess," she grunted in reply, shooting a glare at a guy who tried to approach her.

"What do you think Amethyst has planned?" Amaya asked, walking up as she still held her sister's arm in a death grip.

"Whatever it is, it's not good," the Leader mumbled as she shoved someone dressed up as Darth Vader out of her way.

"Tone it down a bit, Button," Marine scolded.

"I'm trying to get us to the Auditorium faster."

"What if it's a trap?" Holly questioned, rejoining the conversation.

Button shot her a glare and the sensitive girl squeaked, throwing her hands over her head, "I'm sorry!"

The Leader shook her head, "No. I'm sorry. I'm just a little pissed at Amethyst right now."

"Because he made you faint like a little sissy?" Amaya teased.

The girl in question spun around, glaring menacingly at the Mountain Viper, who shrunk back a little. "No, I'm pissed because that bastard decided to pick a public venue and put all of these people in danger! Got that, Mew Lime?"

Amaya nodded, biting her lip. Button spun around again and began pushing her way through the crowd again. She finally found a door labeled Auditorium. She pushed the door open, surprised to see a (very noticeable) giant tiger sitting patiently on the stage. "Ladies and gentleman!" a voice came on over the speakers as the Mews began to walk down the steps to the stage. "Welcome to the main event, the Tiger vs. the Mews!"

Applause echoed through the theater, despite the fact there was no one in any of the seats. "This is creepy," Holly commented, clinging onto her sister's arm.

Amaya and Marine nodded in agreement, but Button was too focused in the tiger to hear the silver wolf's words. She led the team down the stairs with fierce determination to finish this quickly and hopefully kick Amethyst's ass. The tiger watched them lazily, pushing itself into a standing position. Then, it lunged. Button, however was ready for this and pushed the other three into one of the aisles. The all murmured a thanks. Button looked at the spot where they just were and saw a huge slice on the stairs. "Watch out for the claws," she whispered to the other Mews, trying not to attract the attention of the confused tiger.

They all nodded just as the tiger spotted them and bounded towards them, moving his paw with huge claws before he was even near them. They all jumped back, landing on separate fold-down chairs. "What the hell was that?" Amaya exclaimed. "It wasn't anywhere near us!"

"When it swipes, just move out of the way," Button instructed. "Marine-"

She was cut off as she tried to avoid another swipe that destroyed the chair she was on. "The owners are going to be pissed," she said. "Marine. Can you put up a barrier wall?"

Marine nodded to the Leader, "Grape Tambourine!"

The purple tambourine appeared in her hand. "Everyone get behind Marine!" Button told the other two as they all jumped behind the purple Mew.

"Grape Defense Barrier!"

The wall appeared right on time as the tiger made another attempt, not even scratching the surface of the barrier. "Good work, Marine!" Amaya encouraged.

Marine looked at them, "I don't know how much longer I can hold it, guys."

Button nodded to the twins who swiped their arms out in front of them, a long staff appearing in each of their hands. Holly's was dark green with white spots, a large kiwi-like bulb on the tip whereas Amaya's was pure black except for the light green bulb on top of it. They touched the ends together, the two differently hued light entwining with each other as they called out, "Lime and Kiwi Twin Ribbon Attack!"

Just as the barrier disappeared, they each pointed their staffs at the tiger who made to claw again and the two lights hit it square in the chest. "Quick before it recovers!" Marine exclaimed to Button, who had already launched the ball into the air.

She caught the scepter, "Red Cherry Ribbon!"

The lights surrounded the tiger, forming a ball and shattering. A girl dressed like a (surprise, surprise) tiger-girl, sat up, confused. "Where am I?" she murmured, just as the Mews slipped out of the doors.

* * *

Back to normal, the four girls walked to the cafe, chattering quietly. They all stopped when they notice that Button was slightly behind all of them. "Is something wrong?" Marine asked her best-friend.

Button looked up at them, "Am I the only one who finds it strange that Amethyst didn't appear like last time?"

"Now that I think about it, it is kind of strange," Marine admitted.

"He appeared when we fought that giant lizard. Right sis?" Holly added.

Amaya nodded, "He did. Why didn't he appear this time?"

They all sighed, clearly confused as Marine pushed open the door. "We're back, Ryou!" Button called, not seeing him or Keiichiro anywhere.

Keiichiro peeked his head around the corner, "Welcome back girls, there's someone I'd like you to meet."

Button raised an eyebrow, but walked over with the other Mews into the kitchen. There, standing next to Ryou was a boy about their age with light brown hair and coal black eyes. He smiled attractively at the four shocked girls, "Hello, I'm Night Beaumanior."


	13. Random Chapter!

_Hello, I'm Night Beaumanior."_

Button gaped at the man in front of her along with the other Mews. _Wow,_ the Mew Leader thought. _He's almost as good-looking as Ryou. Wait! I didn't just think that. Gah. What is wrong with me?_

While Button had an internal battle with her thoughts, Ryou explained why Night was in the cafe. "He's our new delivery boy, we just hired him yesterday after you all left. That's why Keiichiro and I were in the office for so long. Any questions for Night?"

Holly's hand popped up, "Are you single?!"

"Holly!" Amaya scolded her sister.

"What? I was just asking. Well, are you?"

Night chuckled, "Yes, I'm single. I'm not ready for a relationship right now, though."

Holly pouted while her sister dragged her away. Marine giggled while Button stepped forward, "My name's Button. And the two that walked away were Amaya and Holly."

She gestured to Marine who smiled shyly, "And this is Marine."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Night said, smiling softly at the two girls.

"Are you going to school around here?" she questioned as she, Marine and Night walked out into the main part of the cafe.

He shook his head, "No, I finished my schooling in England."

"Oh, you're from England? I just moved here from there. Which part are you from?"

The two continued talking like old friends and Ryou looked ready to pop a vein as he glared at Night's back. "Someone's jealous," Keiichiro mused.

"I am not jealous," Ryou stated, turning his glare to him.

"Little Ryou has fallen in love," Keiichiro teased.

"No I haven't!" Ryou exclaimed, the blush extremely apparent on his face.

"So you don't even like her a little bit?"

"No. She's just a little flat-chested brat."

"I heard that, Ryou!" Button yelled, causing a guilty look to slide onto Ryou's face.

"I think she's starting to warm up to you, too," Keiichiro said.

"What makes you think that?"

"She calls you Ryou instead of 'Blondie' now."

"I-I guess I never noticed that..."

Keiichiro chuckled at his partner's bewildered expression, the blush still dusting his cheeks. It was at that moment, Button decided to reenter the kitchen, a small smile on her face. Ryou spun around to face her, "Do you like him?"

"Who? Night? Sure I like him... Wait. Not in that way!" she shook her head furiously.

"So you don't like him?"

She glared at him, "No, he seems more interested in Mar- Wait, are you _jealous_?"

"What! No. Why would I be jealous if you like him?"

She shrugged, walking past him to talk to Keiichiro about something. Ryou shook his head and left the kitchen, quietly mumbling, "I'm not jealous."

Button watched Ryou leave out of the corner of her eye, "Ryou's been acting a little strange lately."

"Oh, I'm sure he has his reasons," Keiichiro bemused.

"What do you mean?" she questioned, tilting her head to the side.

The man laughed softly, "Oh, nothing. So how do you like Night?"

"He seems nice- Wait! Don't change the subject. What are Ryou's reasons for acting so strange?"

"Let's just say you've made quite an impression on him."

She raised an eyebrow at him, but didn't ask anymore questions. She turned to leave when Holly suddenly burst through the door. "Guess what, Button?"

After recovering from her mini heart attack, Button managed a small "What?".

"Amaya and I scored six tickets to this party at a prestigious boarding school just outside of town! Marine said she'd come and I invited Night too. Can you come?"

"When is it?"

"Next Saturday from 6 PM to Midnight," she replied happily.

Button thought about it for a moment before nodding, "Okay, I'll come. Who are you going to give the last ticket to?"

Holly looked at Keiichiro hopefully. "Sorry, I have somewhere to be," he told the silver wolf. "Why don't you ask Ryou instead."

"Wait. I don't think-" Button started, but Holly was already gone and out the door to find Ryou.

The Mew Leader sighed, "Guess I'm going to a party. I don't have anything to wear though!"

Keiichiro smiled at her, taking out his wallet. "Why don't you go and buy something to wear," he told her, holding out a wad of cash.

Her eyes widened, "No. No. No. I couldn't do that!"

"You don't get your paycheck until Monday so it's the least I could do," he insisted. "If you don't take it, I'll just go buy you something to wear."

She sighed, reluctantly taking the money, "Thank-you, Keiichiro."

"It's no problem."

* * *

Button stared at the small boutique. The dress in the front had caught her attention after fruitlessly searching for hours. Of course, she'd have to try it on first, pick a pair of shoes, decide on a hairstyle... "God, I hate acting like a girly-girl. It's too much work," she grumbled, pushing the glass door open.

Marine had showed the Mew leader her own dress the night before and she had looked absolutely radiant in. She remembered mentioning Night, making a deep blush spreading across the seal's face.

Button sighed, her best-friend had a huge crush on Night, that was obvious. They had so much in common despite their separate personalities. She walked by them while she was sweeping, only to find the two of them discussing quantum physics. The thought brought a small smile to the red panda's lips as she walked up to the desk.

The woman with too much make-up on and her hair teased up like a hill smacked her gum noisily. "Hello," Button said with her sweetest smile. "I would like to buy that dress in the window."

The woman, or "Ruth" as her name tag claimed, scanned Button, taking in her paint-stained jean shorts, white tank top, and jean jacket she had kept on after she finished repainting the guest room to turn into her own personal library. Ruth blew a bubble with her gum, "You do realize that dress is five-hundred dollars, right?"

Button nodded. Keiichiro had give her 1500 dollars for some strange reason and she swore to herself she would work off every last penny. Sighing, Ruth walked over to a small rack on the back and pulled an exact replica of the dress off of it. She handed it to Button, who gratefully took it to head to the changing rooms.

After putting it on, she smiled at herself. Yes, this was it, the perfect dress.

* * *

_Not much happened in this chapter, I know, but at least there was more awkwardness between Ryou and Button! ^_^_


	14. The Party

Button thanked the taxi driver and paid him then turned to face the school that was hosting the party. Holly had called her last night saying she forgot to mention it was a masquerade, so the Mew leader's face was covered with a red mask that reached from just above her eyebrows to the center of her cheekbones, her hazel eyes peering around cautiously. The school was huge and apparently a performing arts school. A large wrought iron gate provided use as an entrance to the four part building that had at least five floors each, large walls rising on either side. At the front gate stood men taking tickets, bodyguards keeping the party-crashers out. Sighing softly, Button walked towards the gate, an air of dignity surrounding her as her black stilettos clicked against the paved sidewalk. She silently handed her ticket to the man who smiled at her, gesturing into the gate, "Go right ahead, beautiful."

She didn't reply as she walked into the main courtyard where at least two hundred people were gathered, mingling. Paper lanterns hung from strings throughout the area, providing beautiful light along with some of the dim normal light bulbs. Music rang through every corner and some people were dancing like it was a ballroom. In fact, the whole air of the place reminded her of a ballroom. With everyone's face covered with ridiculous masks, she completely expected people to burst out singing "Masquerade" from the Phantom of the Opera. She began humming it quietly as she walked over to the refreshment tables in hopes of finding one of her friends.

As she sipped on her punch, she saw Marine walking towards her, the shy girl's face concealed by a teal mask similar to Button's, but with a small bow on the right side. Marine looked elegant in her dark purple dress, the halter top tied with a small bow, the hem reaching her ankles. A pair of teal wedges were barely visible as she strode to the table. "Hello, Marine."

Startled, Marine put a hand over her pounding heart, "Is that you Button?"

Button nodded. She hadn't shown anyone her dress, so it was quite possible no one would recognize her. Her dress was a sleeveless knee-length dress that was loose around the skirt and tight around the top, making her chest look bigger than it really was. Her long brown hung in cascading curls around her face, reaching the bottom of her shoulder-blades, a small portion of it pinned back and away from her face. The black stilettos on her feet had ribbons that wrapped around her thin legs to the middle of her calf. Her mask was the same red as her dress with small diamonds decorating either side. It had been her mother's and she found it in a box the week before.

"You look amazing!" Marine exclaimed.

"You too. I wouldn't be surprised if Night asked you to dance."

Marine blushed, "He already did. We're waiting for the next waltz."

"If I would've known it was ballroom dancing, I wouldn't have come. I don't know how to ballroom."

The other girl waved a dismissive hand, "You can't be that bad."

"I've never even tried it," Button whined.

"Would you like to dance?" someone asked behind her.

She spun around, facing a masked figure with blonde hair and aqua eyes. She knew it was Ryou, of course (Who else would have such strange eyes?), but she wondered if he knew it was her. She glanced at Marine who gave her a look that said "Do it". She silently sighed, but accepted Ryou's hand as he led her away to where people were dancing. "I don't think I'll be very good..." she admitted.

He pulled her close, wrapping his hands around her. "It's okay. You'll do fine, Button," he whispered in her ear.

So he did know it was her. She blushed deeply, "You knew it was me?"

"What can I say, you look radiant in red."

As if to prove his point, her blush became even redder. The music started and the dance began. For a moment, everything was a jumble to Button, following Ryou's steps and trying to focus on the beat of the music, but then something her mind clicked and everything became clearer. She felt like she was floating on air with only her and Ryou. She spun around gracefully, listening to the beat of her own heart that became the music. When Ryou lifted her, she felt as light as a feather.

It ended much too soon as she drifted back to earth once the music ended. Breathing heavily with a smile on her face, she looked at Ryou who smiled softly back at her. "I thought you couldn't dance," he teased.

She laughed, "So did I!"

They walked away from the dancers preparing for the next song and though he had let go of her hand, she could still feel the warmth from it wrapped around her fingers. Someone suddenly tackled Button into a hug, making her fall back. "You were amazing!" Holly exclaimed, standing up along with Button.

Holly and Amaya were both dressed in green off the shoulder dresses (Holly's was dark green and Amaya's was light), with a pair of black ballet flats, matching masks with white swirls illustrated on them. Button smiled at the twins, then at Marine who was standing next to Night in a full black suit with a black mask. He smiled softly at Button, "You looked like you were having fun."

"Did I? I was barely even thinking."

"Now, it's time for the waltz!" a voice said over the speaker.

"That's our cue," Night said, leading Marine onto the dance floor.

Button watched them dance to the music, a small smile dancing on her face. "What do you mean she cancelled?" a voice nearby exclaimed.

Her eyes shifted over to two people talking in low voices. With the hearing of a Red Panda, however, she could easily hear the conversation. "She just did!" the young girl replied.

The other person, a man with graying hair and dark blue eyes, sighed, "Where are we going to find a replacement singer on such short notice?"

Silently, Button slipped away from her friends and walked over to the man and woman. She smiled softly at them, "I couldn't help but overhear your predicament and I think I may be able to help."

The two understood where she was coming from. "Absolutely not," the man stated.

"But she's cute, Martin" the woman insisted. "How bad could she be?"

Martin sighed, "Okay. You better not mess this up-"

"Button," she told him.

He nodded, "You're on in ten minutes. Just go tell the stage manager I sent you."

"Thank-you, sir. You won't regret it!"


	15. Mew Mew Starfruit

After sneaking away from her friends, Button began searching for the backstage. "I should have asked for directions," she mumbled, realizing she was hopelessly lost as she looked around the hall.

"I don't think I can do it," a shaking young voice said.

"What are you talking about? You've been practicing for weeks," an older, calmer voice replied.

Tilting her head, Button walked to the door that the two voices were coming from. She peered through the small crack and saw a young girl about twelve years old dressed in a beautiful short-sleeved, ankle-length yellow dress with gold accents, her short black hair framing her face. In the mirror, her crystal blues eyes stared at her. The woman next to her had simple brown hair pulled up into a bun and soft brown eyes. She didn't seem dressed for the party but was instead wearing a business suit. "But I'm scared, Estelle. I've never sung in front of so many people," the younger girl said.

Estelle put her hand on her shoulder, "Scotty, you can do it. I know you can."

"Coming through!" a male voice announced and Button was suddenly pushed into the room.

She stumbled for a few steps but caught herself before falling flat on her face. She stood up straight, looking at the two startled occupants of the room. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't help over hear your conversation," she apologized.

"It's okay," Estelle assured her. "I'm Estelle Renavoir, a music teacher at this school and this is Scotty, my top student."

Scotty blushed at that statement and Button smiled at her, "I'm Button. I came here with some friends. I overheard that you don't want to sing in front of all those people."

The young girl nodded, "I'm too scared."

Button knelt in front of her, taking both of her small hands, "If you've practiced so much, why would you be scared?"

"There's too many people," Scotty told her.

"How about this? When you sing, imagine no one is there but me. And sing to me, okay?" Button said, smiling brightly at Scotty with a small giggle.

She contemplated it for a moment before nodding. "Okay!" she agreed, smiling.

Button helped her stand up and watched Estelle and Scotty leave. She gratefully sighed. As much as she wanted to help, she had terrible stage fright. She left the room to return to her friends and Ryou- Ryou... Why did she feel so strange when she danced with him? Her heart felt like it was going to pound out of her chest when he wrapped his arm around her waist- "Eep!" she exclaimed, blushing furiously as she threw her hands over her face.

Suddenly, a scream resounded through hall. Immediately on the alert, she took off towards the sound, moving surprisingly fast considering she was wearing stilettos. Velvet suddenly popped off of the small clip in Button's hair, enlarging before exclaiming, "Alien! Alien!"

Button transformed and rounded the corner, surprised to see Scotty trying to fight a... giant hummingbird? The bird suddenly used it's beak to slam Scotty into the wall. The Mew Leader gasped, running to check on the young girl as she fought against the intense wind the hummingbird's wings were creating. She finally reached the unconscious girl and picked her up to get her out of the way, but the hummingbird flew away.

* * *

_Meanwhile in the Courtyard..._

Everyone was taking a break from dancing so the people on stage could get ready for some singer who was going to perform. Marine and Night walked up to the group, breathless and flushed. Marine about to say something when a scream erupted from the crowd, followed by more screams and people running away. "What's going on?" Night wondered aloud. "We should probably get out of here."

"But Button's not here," Marine pointed out.

The other four looked around, realizing that Button was indeed not there. "We can't leave without Button!" Holly exclaimed.

"I'll go find her," Ryou said, "You guys get out of here."

That's when they saw it, a giant hummingbird swinging aimlessly at people with it's long beak. Several people within range went flying, slamming into walls and pillars. "Pretend to get separated," Ryou whispered to Marine who nodded and told the other two.

"Let's get out of here!" Ryou told them all.

They took off along with the rest of the crowd, but the girls detoured behind one of the pillars, transforming. The place had cleared out quickly except for the few unconscious people and other people screaming at them to wake up. A small girl was cowering in front of the hummingbird, crying for her mother. The large bird made a move to swipe at her and the three mews cried, knowing they were to far to get her. Suddenly, there was a flash of red and the girl had disappeared. Their eyes followed the flash and saw Button as Mew Cheery, holding the girl in her arms away from the bird.

"It's okay," Button told the girl, smoothing down her hair. "You're safe now."

The girl looked up at her with frightened green eyes and for a split second, Button saw someone else in front of her. Blinking back tears as it returned to the girl she had just saved, she smiled, "I need you get as far away from here as possible. Okay?"

The girl nodded as Button released her and she took off running. Marine and the other two Mews ran up to her. Marine hugged her, "You had us scared. Where were you?"

"Uh... The bathroom?"

The three didn't believe her, but didn't ask anymore questions because the hummingbird zoomed towards them. And it moved extremely fast."Grape Defense Barrier!" Marine exclaimed.

Unfortunately, the bird was on them before the wall could fully form and the monster broke through it like glass, making the Mews fly back. Button grabbed a cord where the paper lanterns were hanging and swung on top of it as Marine fell into a fountain, quickly stumbling to her feet, Holly landed on her feet on top of a table and Amaya grabbed a lamppost, holding onto it for dear life. "It separated us," Button noted.

"Button! Watch out!" Amaya yelled.

Instinctively, Button leaped up into the air and flipped back, landing on her feet. She dodged each swipe the hummingbird towards her until one caught her in the stomach, slamming against a tree. All of the air was knocked out of her as she stumbled up, breathing heavily. She noticed each of her friends were in similar situations. Groaning, she held her arm, which throbbed and pulled away her hand, seeing red blood staining it. "Just great!" she mumbled, wincing when she took a step.

When she opened her eyes, she saw Scotty stumble into the courtyard. "No. Get out of here, Scotty!" she yelled.

Scotty looked at her, becoming distracted and the hummingbird swiped towards her. Fortunately, Marine had put up a barrier between the black-haired girl and the hummingbird. "Button! A Mew Mark!" Velvet whispered next to her.

Button saw it, a brown mark shaped like fan on Scotty's shoulder where the wind from the hummingbird's wings lifted up her loose sleeve. She was the fifth Mew. Velvet dropped zoomed over and dropped a pendant into Scotty's hand. Scotty peered at it before shouting, "Mew Mew Starfruit Metamorphose!"

A bright yellow light enveloped Scotty and when it dimmed, she was transformed into Mew Starfruit. Her hair had become more of a grayish color and her eyes had become completely grey, cute black ferret ears peeking out and a long golden black-tipped tail swinging back and forth growing from her backside. She wore a yellow outfit with the same top as the rest of the Mews, the skirt gently folded out, scrunching up on either side. Instead of a front of the skirt, she wore a pair of gray shorts with a pair of ankle-length gray boots. Instead of gloves, she had a yellow cuff with a large grey bow on it on her left wrist. Her garter and choker were also yellow with gray trimming. "Yellow Starfruit Fan," the newly transformed Mew Starfruit mumbled.

A large yellow fan appeared in both of her hands as she gripped it. She moved it to the side like a baseball bat the in a swift movement, she swung it, exclaiming, "Starfruit Wind Ribbon!"

A huge visible yellow-ribboned gust of wind sent the hummingbird flying back. "Now, Mew Cherry!" Marine exclaimed.

Button launched the ball into the air and caught it, twirling it between her fingers, "Red Cherry Ribbon!"

The red light wrapped around the hummingbird then burst, Estelle dropping to the ground. Scotty returned to normal and ran to her music teacher. The other Mews also returned to normal. Button fell to her knees, clutching her arm tightly. Marine ran to her, a scratch on her cheek. Holly appeared to have sprained her ankle and Amaya seemed unscathed. "Can you stand?" Marine asked.

Button nodded, seeing Amaya confront Scotty about her Mew powers, Holly limping to her sister. Marine helped her and the two left the courtyard, seeing that most of the people had left, but Ryou and Night were still there. When Ryou saw Button, he smiled, but the smile disappeared the moment he saw the blood slipping through her fingers. He ran to her and she smiled weakly at him as he led her to a bench, tearing a part of his undershirt off. "You don't have to do that," she told him.

He ignored her and wrapped the torn fabric around her injured arm. "You need to be more careful," he said.

She winced when he tightened, "We found the fifth Mew."

"That's good, but don't change the subject. I was worried sick about you," he admitted.

She stared down at her dress, picking at an invisible loose thread. He grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. "Don't scare me like that," he whispered.

She sighed, "I'm sorry, Ryou."

He pulled her into a hug. She was startled and not quite sure what to do, so she just leaned her head into his chest. He pulled away, "I called Keiichiro to pick us up. Night's going to borrow my car to bring the others home."

"Okay," she nodded, blushing slightly.

On cue, Keiichiro pulled up and rolled the window down, "Everyone okay?"

"Yes!" they all replied, Holly and Amaya coming out of the school's gate.

Ryou and Button climbed into the backseat of Keiichiro's car, saying good-bye to everyone. Exhausted, Button leaned her head against Ryou's shoulder and fell asleep.

* * *

_Five Mews down, one to go!_


	16. I Couldn't Protect Them

Not wanting to wake button up, Ryou carefully eased her out of the car and carrying her into her house bridal-style after Keiichiro drove away. Ryou decided he would walk back to the cafe. It was a good thing he had called Marine for directions, because Button had slept through the whole car ride. Her dog barked at him, sniffed him, then ran outside to do whatever it is dogs do. It was easy to find the couch in the living room and he laid her down on it, pushing as stray hair out of her face. She looked so peaceful as she slept. So... beautiful... Wait what?! Did he just call her beautiful? Well, it was true. Her hair was spread out around her and her long eyelashes casted shadows over her pale white cheeks, her lips forming a very small, almost unnoticeable smile.

She suddenly turned, her skirt riding up a little bit. Ryou spun around, blushing furiously as he stared at her blank T.V. screen. Over it was... Pictures? He walked closer to get a better look at them. In one, he saw a man and a woman standing next to each other as they stared lovingly into each other's eyes. The man had Button's hair and the woman had her eyes, but their skin were different shades of tan. He assumed they were Button's parents. The next picture was a boy who looked about three years old with his mothers black hair and his father's bright green eyes, two identical girls with only their father's features that appeared to be about five or six and a twelve year old Button, her eyes bright and a huge smile on her face as she stood behind the other children. The next picture had the whole family with the father holding the boy, the girls in between the parents and Button's mother holding her oldest daughter close to her. After that, there were varying pictures of each family member, some of them with a puppy Peanut.

"It's not nice to snoop."

Ryou spun around to face Button who rubbed her eyes tiredly and gave a small yawn as she sat up. She smoothed down her skirt, frowning seriously at Ryou. "I'm sorry, I just- Are they your family?"

She stood up, "They were. The little boy's Helm and the two girls were the twins Avalon and Arcadia. Then, there were my parents, Ballad and Juniper Johnson."

When she finished talking, she was standing next to him, staring at the pictures with a dazed look. "We were the happiest family in our town. My parents never fought and all of us kids got along perfectly. We weren't loaded or anything, just in the middle=class. My father worked as a construction man and my mom owned a small dress shop. I home-schooled to watch over the younger ones. Everything seemed perfect."

Ryou looked at her, "W-what happened?"

She turned and began to walk away when Ryou grabbed her shoulder to spin her around. A tear slipped down her cheek as she shook her head. "I thought I told you that you have to let people in, Button," he said, setting his other hand on her shoulder.

When she didn't reply, he sighed, "My parents are dead, too, you know."

She looked up at him, more tears filling her eyes, "I- I'm sorry."

He shook his head, "It's not your fault your family died, Button."

"Actually, Ryou, it is, because I couldn't protect them."

Ryou's hands slipped from her shoulders as he took a step back from her. She smiled weakly at him, tears still streaming down her face, "I couldn't do the one thing that I was supposed to do."

She fell to her knees, staring down at the ground as her tears fell onto the carpet, darkening it. "Actually, I don't even know how it happened. I've tried suppressing the memory as well as I could but- It just won't work! I was supposed to protect them, make sure they were safe and I couldn't do it! If I could trade my life for theirs, I would do it. I would take every moment, every breath of my life and give it to them. They meant the world to me and I let them slip away like grains of sand between my fingers. Why couldn't I do it, Ryou? Why did they have to die?" she looked up at him, tears streaming down her face.

Silently, he knelt down next to her, "I felt the same way about my parents. But there is nothing you can do about it now."

She wiped the tears from her eyes, despite the fact more spilled down her cheeks. Ryou silently pulled her into his chest as she silently cried. She pulled away and he peered down at her curiously. She pecked him on the cheek, standing up, "Thanks, Ryou. You can let yourself out."

She disappeared up the stairs and Ryou brought his hand up to his cheek. "Oh and if you tell anyone anything of what I told you, i will personally see to it that you have a very slow and painful death."

He chuckled, standing up, "Good luck with that, Button!"

He could hear her laughing until her bedroom door closed

* * *

_It's a little short, but more of an emotional chapter_. _Button's past will go more into detail later on, so don't worry, you'll get the whole story. She kissed him on the cheek! Eek! _


	17. The Villain and the Embarrassing Dream

"Get back to work, Holly!" Amaya scolded her sister who was peering at the desserts in the display desk.

"But I'm tired!" Holly whined in response.

"You haven't even done anything!"

"But I stayed up all last night watching anime!"

Button giggled at the bickering sisters as she swept the floor. Marine looked up from the table she was wiping down, "Did you get home safely last night, Button?"

Remembering last night, Button turned solemn and nodded. Suddenly, Scotty burst through the kitchen door in her uniform. She spotted Button and ran up to her, "How do I look, Button?!"

The Mew leader giggled, smiling at Scotty, "You look adorable."

"Yay!" the ferret jumped into the air. "I love this dress!"

As if to model it, she pit her hands under her chin and leaned to the side. All of the other girls started laughing and Button slipped into the kitchen to put the broom back. "It seems our youngest Mew has taken quite a liking to you," Keiichiro said, glancing up from the cake he was decorating.

Button shrugged, "It's probably because I was the first to meet her."

"Maybe. Can you wake Ryou up? He's came home really late last night and I still didn't see his light go out well after four A.M."

"Why were you up that late?" Button questioned.

"I've been working on a book."

She smiled, "That's amazing. I'll go wake him up."

She left the kitchen and disappeared up the stairs, easily finding Ryou's room. She cracked open the door and saw him sprawled out on his bed, wearing the same clothes from the night before. _Aww, _she thought. _He looks so... innocent when he sleeps. _She quietly walked towards him and was about to shake him awake when she heard him mumble, "Button..."

_He said my name..._ She leaned forward when he suddenly grabbed her wrist, pulling her into the bed with him, with her facing his chest. He wrapped his arms around her waist, gripping her tightly as he nestled his face into her hair. "Eek!" she exclaimed, trying to move, but his grip was too tight. "Wake up, Ryou," she whispered. "Come on... Wakey wakey."

No luck. She looked at his shoulder and smirking, she bit it. He yelped, waking up and freeing Button who jumped to her feet quicker than a lightning bolt. He sat up and glared at her, "God, Button was that the only way to wake me up?"

She giggled, "Yep! Now get out of bed, you're losing daylight!"

She walked to the door and was about to close it when she turned around, a smirk evident on her face, "Did you have any good dreams, Ryou?"

A deep blush appeared on his face and she laughed, slamming the door shut. Ryou yawned, breathing in deeply. Wait a second, why did his clothes smell like cherry blossoms?

* * *

Button sighed, exhausted from a long day of work. The moon shone overhead, casting a soft light over the street. She yawned, the moment she got home, she would take a long, hot shower. "Why hello there."

Amethyst! Button became on the full alert, staring at Amethyst who was currently (for once) standing in front of her. He laughed, leaning against a lamppost, "Calm down, Button. I'm not here to fight you."

She watched him with cautious eyes as he sighed, walking towards her. She took a step back, "What do you want, Amethyst?"

"I just want to talk."

She growled, "For some reason, I don't believe you."

"Oh, don't be like that."

She was about to take another step back when he was suddenly in front of her, gripping her wrist tightly enough to leave a bruise. He stared at her with his sinister red eyes. She was about to say something when he cried out in pain, dropping her wrist, smoke curling from his hand along with the smell of burning flesh. "Impossible..." he muttered, glancing at Button's wrist where her Mew mark was clearly visible. "Helena?"

Somehow, that name struck a cord in Button as her eyes widened turning the red they were in her Mew form. "It is is you," Amethyst growled.

"You will leave this place at once," a voice that wasn't Button's said from Button's mouth.

"You win for now, Helena. But I'll be back."

Amethyst vanished and Button's eyes returned to normal as she lurched forward, clutching her head. "What just happened?" she wondered out loud, rubbing her Mew mark which stung.

* * *

_"I love you, Button," Ryou said, moving closer to the startled Mew leader._

_He grabbed her chin and tilted her head up, his lips inches from hers. She could feel his warm breath against her face. "Ryou?" she asked quietly, her heart pounding in her chest._

_"Shh," he leaned in and closed the distance between the-_

* * *

"Eek!"

Button bolted up in her bed, her heart thumping loudly. She remembered her dream and a deep blush covered her cheeks and she threw her hands over her face in embarrassment. She pulled her hands away and glanced at her clock. "Oh no, I'm going to be late!"

She hurried out of bed, running her brush through her hair and throwing on her uniform. As she brushed her teeth, she looked at her phone, seeing several text messages from Marine asking where she was. She quickly replied that she'd be there soon before hurrying out of her door, slinging her messenger bag over her shoulder as she ran. She heard her phone beep and slipped it out of her pocket.

_Good, because Ryou's about to come looking for you._

The blush once again spread across Button's face at the memory of her dream. She was so busy looking at the screen, she didn't see the person turning the corner in front of her. And of course, they collided. Button flipped herself over mid-air, landing on her feet. The other person wasn't so lucky. She landed sprawled out on the ground. "I'm so sorry!" Button exclaimed.

The girl who appeared to be about eighteen stood up, glaring at Button, "You better be."

Button took in her appearance. She was tall, a few inches over Button's 5'4. She was obviously of Asian descent from the slight slant in her dark brown (almost black) eyes. Her long blue-black hair was up in a ponytail that was tied up with a bow. She was dressed in a plain white Aeropostale t-shirt, a light blue miniskirt and a pair of combat boots.

She glared at Button, "What the hell are you staring at?"

"Oh I'm sorry."

The Mew Leader remembered that she was late for school and said a quick goodbye, rushing off to the building where she learned. She made it just as the warning bell sounded off and stopped to take a breather. Someone flicked her on her head and she straightened up, glaring at Ryou, "What was that for?"

He shrugged, "You shouldn't have been late."

Growling, she pushed past him and saw Marine running towards her. "What took you so long, Button?" the blonde girl asked once she was close enough.

"My alarm didn't go off," she mumbled, not mentioning her dream even though there was a small blush on her cheeks.

"Well we better get going, the last bell is about to ring," Ryou said, coming up behind them.

Button harrumphed, crossing her arms over her chest and walking away. Ryou raised an eyebrow at Marine, "Did I say something?"

Marine at the same perplexed look on her face, "I don't know..."

* * *

_Sorry, I would have uploaded faster, but my internet went out! And I live in the country so it takes awhile for the people to get out here to fix it._


	18. The Song of Darkness

Button fell back into her a chair with a groan. She had a five minute break before she had to go back to work and she planned to use every moment of it resting. It was extremely busy, even in the break room, she could here people talking out in the Cafe. At first, she thought it was because it was Dessert Thursday where all of the deserts were half-priced. Then, she noticed that three fourths of the customers were girls and most of them were talking about "the new sexy delivery boy". That's when she realized most of the crowd was for Night. She opened her eyes, staring at the ceiling before taking a sip of water from her cup and pushing herself to her feet. She expected Night would have his own fanclub soon, which made her feel kind of bad for Marine. She sighed softly and walked into the kitchen, seeing Holly and Scotty scarfing down some of Keiichiro's strawberry shortcake.

At first, the Mew Leader feared the Scotty wouldn't fit in with the other girls because of the age gap. Apparently, she had nothing to worry about... But really, did her influence _have_ to be Holly? Out of all of the other girl's, it had to be the laziest of the three. She walked up to the table, "You girl's need to get back to work."

Holly looked at her, "You're not working."

"That's because I've been here since six AM dumbass!" Button exclaimed.

Holly stood up, looking surprisingly angry, "You didn't have to come early, you know!"

"Actually, I did. You, Amaya, Marine, and I were supposed to be here at six! Or did you forget?! You came in four hours late! I mean seriously, who does that?!"

Amaya and Marine had come into the kitchen when they heard shouting and watched the two girls argue with resigned looks. Night walked in, carrying a heavy load of boxes. A perplexed look passed over his face before he looked at the two spectators, "You know, I'm not even going to ask."

Marine sighed, "That's good because I don't know how'd I answer."

"I've got some deliveries, so see you," he smiled at Marine before exiting out of the back door.

Amaya and Scotty (who had walked over) grinned deviously at Marine who looked like a deer in the headlights. "Since when are you and Night so buddy buddy?" Amaya asked.

Marine waved her hands in front of herself frantically, "He smiled at all of us!"

"Nope! Night smiled at _you_!" Scotty exclaimed.

"Would you all just shut up?!"

Everyone stopped their discussions and looked at Ryou who was standing in the kitchen doorway and looked like he was ready to pop a vein. "Why is no one working?" he asked.

"Sorry!" everyone exclaimed and everyone rushed out into the cafe.

Ryou stopped Marine and Button, "I need to talk to you two."

They both stood in front of him, their heads tilted in question. "What do you need?" Button asked.

"I need you to transfer schools."

"Eh?!"

"It would be safer for all of you to be together. So, I need you to transfer to Holly and Amaya's school," he explained.

Button was about to protest when Marine exclaimed, "How am I supposed to tell my sister I'm transferring to a public school on the other side of town?! My parents worked very hard to get me into Jerald!"

Ryou shrugged, "I'm sure you'll figure something out."

He began to walk away and Button glanced at her best-friend who looked ready to cry. "You are such an insensitive bastard!' she yelled at him.

He raised an eyebrow at her, "Why are you getting so upset about this?"

"Why you-" she growled, her teeth from the carnivorous side of her Red Panda starting to show.

Marine grabbed her the Mew leader's arms to stop her from killing Ryou, "It's okay, Button! Really! It is! Don't kill Ryou!"

Ryou smirked, "Like she could hurt me."

With surprising strength and speed, Button broke free from Marine and ran towards Ryou. He didn't see her coming until she had flung him to the side and pushed him out the open window. Marine looked at her best-friend in surprise. "What? We're only on the first floor."

* * *

Button wiped down the tables, humming to the songs on her mp3 player, the ear buds blocking out any noise. Night left awhile ago and the girls had just clocked out to make sure Scotty got to the last bus to her boarding school safely. Suddenly, the music to a song she had made herself came on and she automatically found herself singing the lyrics:

_The Darkness opens up, _

_Taking you in deeper,_

_Pulling you down farther._

_It swallows the light in it's hopeless jaws,_

_Turning the purest white into an empty black._

_It follows you in silence,_

_The deafening silence of your lifeless soul._

_It destroys the life it touches,_

_With it's thirst for maroon blood _

_And hunger for lost flesh._

_It pulls you deeper into the endless abyss._

_(Chorus):_

_And you endlessly fall and fruitlessly claw_

_For the light that runs away_

_From your hope and soul buried by the black._

_You are swallowed by the Darkness._

_(End of Chorus)_

_Your will becomes shattered_

_Like pieces of a fragile mirror_

_As the deadly clockwork continues to soundlessly tick on,_

_The silent gears of your fate_

_Turn the time forward _

_In your lost and meaningless dreams_

_And in your misplaced hope._

_You reach for an untouchable star_

_That hovers like a worthless beacon_

_To the light already lost to the Darkness._

___(Chorus):_

_And you endlessly fall and fruitlessly claw_

_For the light that runs away_

_From your hope and soul buried by the black._

_You are swallowed by the Darkness._

_And as you wait_

_For the glorious end to near,_

_You realize, it's the light, not the Darkness you_ _fear._

Button opened her eyes and found Ryou standing in front of her. She cried out in surprise, "How long have you been standing there?!"

He ignored her question, "Why are you still here? Work ended hours ago."

"I thought I'd finish tidying up," she told him, her cheeks tinted red from the embarrassment of Ryou hearing her sing.

That is until she remembered how rude he was earlier. She harrumphed and walked to the next table. He followed her, "You know, you were being really immature today."

She glared at him, "_I _was being immature? At least I care about people's feelings!"

"I care about people not getting killed!" he retorted. "It'd be safer for you all to be together considering the face Amethyst can mess with your head!"

"How the hell does that work?! Your mind is there away from the protection of others! I don't quite understand how being together could possibly make any difference!"

The whole time they were yelling at each other, they had unconsciously moved closer to each other until they were practically an inch apart. Ryou sighed, "I just don't want you to get hurt."

Button found her heart pounding as she stared into his aqua eyes. The moved closer together, their lips almost touching-

"Alien! Alien!"

Startled, the two both took a few steps back from each other. Button rested a hand on the nearby table. What the hell was about to happen?! She was blushing furiously and so was he, both of them breathing heavily. She swore her heart was trying to break out of her chest. She looked at Velvet who was still shouting the alert. She knew she had to go, but she didn't want to. She wanted to stay... With Ryou. But why?

* * *

_The song is an original by me and truthfully, I find it really depressing, but I think it works with Button's past and kind of her personality. I wrote it when I was really sad about something so yeah. Really Button and Ryou?! You were so close! T.T_


	19. Lydia

_Last time on Phoenix Mew Mew..._

_The whole time they were yelling at each other, they had unconsciously moved closer to each other until they were practically an inch apart. Ryou sighed, "I just don't want you to get hurt."_

_Button found her heart pounding as she stared into his aqua eyes. The moved closer together, their lips almost touching-_

_"Alien! Alien!"_

_Startled, the two both took a few steps back from each other. Button rested a hand on the nearby table. What the hell was about to happen?! She was blushing furiously and so was he, both of them breathing heavily. She swore her heart was trying to break out of her chest. She looked at Velvet who was still shouting the alert. She knew she had to go, but she didn't want to. She wanted to stay... With Ryou. But why?_

* * *

Button and Ryou continued to stare at each other, neither of them daring to speak or move. "I-I should go..." she finally said, confusion evident in her voice.

Ryou nodded, "B-be safe, okay?"

She nodded and shakily walked out of the cafe with Velvet. Although he didn't hear her say anything, she could faintly see a red glow, signalling she had transformed. He placed a hand over his beating heart. What had just happened? What was he about to do? He stared at the place she had been less than a minute ago. Just thought of her still being there made his heart pound harder. He was glad Keiichiro was off at a baking club or something. What was wrong with him?

He took a shaky breath. He was about to kiss her, he realized. Not a kiss on the cheek like she had given him, but a real kiss. Sure, he had kissed Ichigo a few times, but that was more in a teasing manner. He used to have a small crush on the former Mew leader, but it felt nothing like this. He had never blushed more in front of anyone else. He was never open to anyone. What made Button so different? What about her made his heart pound so fast? She was probably the most irritating person he knew. But... He closed his eyes, remembering that night not too long ago in Button's house. He could still see her quietly sobbing on the floor, see the distant look in her eyes when she told him about her family. He remembered that look of emotional pain on her face when she was unconscious. He remembered the first time the two of them had ever met, when she bumped into him. The first time she'd called him 'Blondie'. Who would've known that their lives would become so connected?

His eyes slid open, though visions of the current Mew leader continued to flash before his eyes. Did- Did he have feelings for Button?

* * *

Button reached the empty parking lot where Velvet had located the alien, but nothing was there. She grabbed the little robot, "Do you need a tune-up?"

"There was an alien!" he protested.

She sighed, looking around the parking lot once more. She was about to leave, when her eyes passed over a small figure standing under a streetlight. It looked like a little girl. "Alien!" Velvet exclaimed.

The Mew leader glanced at the robot, "What are you talking about? It's just a little girl!"

_Your little robot isn't lying,_ a calming voice said in Button's head.

She took an involuntary step back, suspiciously eyeing the child who began to approach her. _Calm down, I do not wish to harm you. There is something that you and I need to discuss._

"Who are you?" Button asked.

_My name is Lydia, I am Amethyst's sister. _

Now that the girl was close enough, Button could see her better. She had pure white hair that was loose and blew slightly in the nighttime breeze and blood-red eyes. Unlike her brother's malicious and sadistic gaze however, Lydia's was calm and compassionate. She held Lydia's gaze, not daring to look away. _I understand that you do not trust me. Forgive me for speaking to you in this way, I am trapped in the shape and do not have the ability to speak. That was taken from me by my brother. Truly, he is a cruel man with a heart black her than the 'abyss'. He is far beyond saving._

"What do you mean?" Button asked. "What do your people want with our planet?"

The young girl silently laughed, _Our people do not want to harm your world at all, dear Button. It is my brother who wants to do terrible things to your planet and it's inhabitants. He is power-hungry and believes that Earth is the perfect place to overtake. My people would never harm another world nor a person who is not from our planet, it was decreed by the Alta Ailin herself._

That strange word sounded familiar somehow. Button knew it, somewhere far inside her brain. "Alta Ailin? What's that?"

_Of course, forgive me. I believe in English it is translated to 'High Princess'? She is-or rather was- the ruler of my home planet, Revelia. _

"Was? Did something happen?" Button asked, still keeping her guard up, though it did seem that Lydia really wasn't going to attack her.

_Yes, the Alta Ailin passed away almost five hundred years ago. You see, in our world, people age much slower. The Ailin was the one who gave us a planet to live on after ours was destroyed nearly 8,000,000 years ago. She made the law to never harm another planet because she saw her own world become nothing but star dust. She lived long, even for my own kind and she was the most beautiful woman in all of the universes the day she died, not a single grey hair nor the slightest wrinkle. My people believe she was not like the rest of us, that she was pure, like a Goddess._

"Do you remember her well?"

_Nay, I was only in my first three hundred years when she passed so my memory is extremely foggy. My brother remembers her well though. And he hates her with more passion than I admire her. He believes that we should not consult her on affairs in the living world, though it is the only way my people know._

Button took a deep breath, "W-what was her name?"

_Her name? It is the name that the angels sing in praise. her name, dear Button, was Helena._


	20. I Think It's Called Love

_Helena... _Button felt dizzy, her head swimming. Her dream flashed into her mind, the woman had called her Helena. She needed somewhere to sit down, to take a breather. She swayed slightly, stepping back. Lydia stepped forward, _Are you okay, Button?_

She could barely hear her though. Everything seemed so far away. She felt sick to her stomach, and light-headed. Her breathing came out ragged and heavy as she knelt on the ground. Lydia approached her cautiously as Velvet flew off to find help. _Button? What's wrong?_

Button looked up at Lydia before the world went black.

* * *

Velvet found Marine and the twins walking away from the train station and flew up to them, flapping his wings anxiously. "Button is in trouble!"

Marine was immediately on the alert, "Where?"

The three Mews transformed and followed Velvet to the parking lot, only to find Button lying under a streetlamp in her human form. Marine looked at Velvet, "What happened?"

"An-" Velvet suddenly looked confused. "I can't remember."

Holly shook the small robot furiously as Marine approached Button. "What do you mean you can't remember?!" Holly scolded as Amaya tried to get her to stop.

Marine knelt down next to her best-friend, "Button?"

The Mew Leader's eyes fluttered open, glowing red to the seal's surprise. She sat up, holding her head. Marine supported her back, "Are you okay, Button?"

Button glanced at her, confusion in her eyes, "What happened?"

* * *

Button sighed. It was a new school, again. Somehow, she and Marine managed to get transferred here, at Holly and Amaya's school. Just like at her last school, Button glared at everyone. The only difference was that she had Marine trying to calm her down. She had decided to keep the whole Lydia incident to herself, especially since she didn't know if she was trustworthy.

Button sat down in her seat for her first hour, lost in thought. It had been nearly a week since her encounter with the female alien and her almost kiss with Ryou. He had been avoiding her lately. Was he embarrassed? Or disgusted? The thought of him being disgusted by their near kiss made her heart sink. She blew a stray hair out of her face and turned towards the window next to her. She should just ask- Ryou?!

Ryou was standing by the gate to the school, not in his school uniform, just a black sleeveless shirt with fingerless glove, skinny jeans, and boots. He was skipping school, wasn't he? Button suddenly realized this was the perfect time to ask about the- you know... She jumped out of her seat, ignoring Marine's calls for her to come back. She weaved her way through the crowd and out the front door. When she reached the gate, Ryou was just about to leave.

"Why aren't you in school?" she asked, catching his attention.

He spun around to face her, "I could ask you the same question, Button."

"I asked you first," she countered.

He shrugged, "I'm skipping."

"Idiot," she mumbled.

He stepped closer, "What was that?"

"I-di-ot," she enunciated.

"Better than being a hypocrite," he smirked.

"You sure are annoying," she growled in frustration, walking up to poke him in the chest.

"You are in no position to call me annoying," he retorted, glaring down at her.

"Why have you been avoiding me?" she asked. "Were you... Disgusted?"

He seemed surprised by the question, "I wasn't disgusted, I just need time to think and it's hard to focus when I see you."

His cheeks lit up red when he realized what he said. She smirked, "And what conclusion did you come to?"

There was a long silence before Button let out a long sigh. "I don't know what's wrong with me," she whispered, looking down at her feet. "Whenever I see you, my heart starts beating really fast and I've never blushed so much in my life. I don't know what feelings I have towards you. One moment, I hate you and the next, all I want to do is be around you."

He suddenly pulled her towards him, crashing his lips down onto hers. She was shocked for a moment, staring at him, before she returned the kiss. it felt so... Right. Perfect. There were no words to describe it. He pulled away, a deep blush spread across his face, she was sure she looked the same way. For a moment, the two of them just stared at each other. He smiled, still blushing furiously, "I think it's called love and I feel it too."

Her blush deepened if that's possible. Ryou tucked a stray hair behind her ear, "I'd kiss you again, but I think you need to get to class."

"If I want to get into a good college than I should," she joked, laughing nervously.

He laughed, "No way a dummy like you could get into college."

She glared at him, "Ryou..."

He held up his hands defensively, "I'm just saying."

She pouted, turning around to walk away. To her surprise, Ryou grabbed her around the waist. "I'll see you later," he whispered into her ear, making her blush reappear.

She nodded carefully as he let her go. She turned he head slightly, giving him a small smile, "Bye, Blondie."

She stuck out her tongue and ran away. Ryou laughed and shook his head, muttering, "Idiot."

* * *

_Wow! It's been forever since I updated! I apologize, my internet has been really weird lately. I live in the country and there are storms everyday that mess up the connection. So, I apologize tenfold and hopefully the romance made up for it! The romance! Things are heating up. ^_^_


	21. Together?

"I think something's wrong with Button," Amaya whispered to Marine as they watched the Mew Leader move around in the cafe.

Marine had to agree with the Mountain Viper. Something did seem wrong with Button. Her usually porcelain skin was flushed and she moved much slower than she normally would. And she had kept messing up orders or not even writing them down in the first place. "Do you think the stress of everything that has been going on is finally getting to her. I mean, she does more work than most of us and even comes to the Cafe early to make more money."

Amaya shrugged, leaning against the mop in her hands, "Maybe."

Suddenly, Holly popped out of nowhere, scaring the other two Mews, "I know whats wrong with her!"

"What?" Marine asked.

Suddenly, a pair of glasses appeared on Holly's nose and she was standing in front of a chalkboard. Amaya and Marine looked at each other, "Um..."

"You see," Holly started in a matter-of-fact tone. "The blushing, her flusterniess."

"I don't think that's a word..." Marine tried feebly.

"And of course, the part about her being out of sorts. It can only mean one thing!" her magically appearing glasses glinted dangerously, "Button Johnson is in love!"

"What?! No I'm not."

Marine, Amaya and Holly all turned to look at Button standing in the kitchen doorway. She had snapped out of whatever she was and was glaring at Holly whose glasses and chalkboard had disappeared. Button was not the right person to cross... Holly didn't seem to notice the glare though, "Of course you are!"

"Who died and made you the all-knowing love guru?!" the Mew Leader growled lowly, a pair of carnivorous teeth peeking out.

Holly shrugged, "I'm just stating it as it is!"

Button was about to rush to the bothersome Silver Wolf when Marine and Amaya grabbed her arms to hold her back. "Don't kill her!" Amaya shouted. "She's just being an idiot!"

"Calm down, Button. I don't want you to break anything!" Marine pleaded.

"What is going on in here?"

Everyone froze and turned their heads to Keiichiro, who was holding the ingredients to make a cake. "Nothing!" they all said simultaneously as Amaya and Marine dropped Button's arms.

He quirked an eyebrow at the Mews but didn't push the matter any further. Button walked up to Keiichiro after the others left the kitchen. "Hey, where's Ryou? I haven't seen him around today."

Keiichiro didn't even look at her as he mixed the ingredients, "I think he's in his room. He might be busy, but you can go check."

She smiled, "Thank-you."

As she left the kitchen, Keiichiro watched her out of the corner of his eye.

* * *

Button knocked on Ryou's door, waiting for an answer. After a moment, it opened, revealing a shirtless Ryou. The Mew Leader turned a deep shade of crimson. Anxiously, Ryou looked down each ended of the hall then grabbed Button's wrist and pulled her inside. She let out a small squeak, hearing the door close behind her. When she heard Ryou breathe a sigh of relief, she opened her eyes, not even realizing she had closed them. He had put a shirt on... Thank god! She looked into his eyes, still a bit flustered, "I-is this a bad t-time, because I-I could come back later..."

A low rumble of a laugh erupted from Ryou and she turned even redder. He shook his head, "It's okay, Button."

The Mew Leader let out an involuntary sigh of relief, covering her face in embarrassment. Slowly, Ryou peeled her hands away from her face and she squeaked, finding his face inches from hers. "Did you need something?" he asked calmly.

"I just wanted to talk... About us..." she tried to avoid his gaze but he held her chin firmly between his thumb and index finger.

He nodded, slowly, releasing his grip, and leading her over to the bed where she reluctantly sat down. "Okay. What do you want to talk about?" he questioned softly.

His tone of voice wasn't one she was used to but it calmed her down a bit. She bit her lip, looking down at her lap, "Well, I-I was just wondering..."

She set her jaw firmly into place, looking up at him, "Are we together?"

There was a long silence and Button figured the answer was no. She was about to stand up to go when Ryou suddenly turned her head towards him. Her hazel eyes clashed with his aqua ones before his lip softly touched to hers. She felt herself melt into his kiss for the second time that day, this time running her fingers through his silky blonde hair. He gently pushed her onto her back, deepening the kiss. Eventually though, they both had to stop and catch their breath. Button pushed herself into a sitting position. Ryou smirked at her, fixing his mussed up hair, "Does that answer your question?"

She nodded numbly, "What about the girls though? They'll freak if I tell them and then spend all their time teasing us and-"

Ryou placed a finger to her lips, "We probably shouldn't tell them until this all over, okay? Keiichiro and Night can't know either. It stays between you and me."

He moved his finger and she smiled softly, "I need to get back to work."

He kissed her forehead, "Okay."

For a moment, however, the two just stared into eyes. Just a few weeks ago, they had hated each other so much they couldn't be in the same room without arguing. Somewhere along the way, that became an attraction and here they were, being all lovey-dovey with each other. Neither of them knew how or when it happened, it just did. Finally, Button let out a long sigh and stood up, stopping a moment to fix her hair in Ryou's mirror. She smirked at him, "Bye, Blondie."

The door closed softly and Ryou fell back on his bed. How'd her fall in love with the most irritating person in the world.

* * *

Keiichiro leaned against the wall of the spare room, smiling softly to himself. He glanced in the direction of Ryou's room, "Well, isn't this an interesting turn of events?"


End file.
